


Rise of the Blue Knight

by Roci_Stone



Series: Eliotropes: New Age Rising [1]
Category: Wakfu
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 116,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roci_Stone/pseuds/Roci_Stone
Summary: A baby boy, born on a bolt of lightning and wearing an odd hat of soft blue. His Stars are those of the Sea Dragon, and the sign of his arrival a three tailed comet. A new Age begins for the fabled World of the Twelve as the new arrival begins a quest for his own Destiny, and that of his own people.
Series: Eliotropes: New Age Rising [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018062
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Night of the Comet

Toward dawn, the sky over Amakina seemed to clear a bit, as the fearfully large ball of fire cut its fork-tailed path across the sky.  
But as the Comet seemed to hover directly over the village itself, the remaining wool of purple clouds coughed up a terrific thunderstorm!

Thunder seemed to light up the clouds from the back, as bolts of malevolent electricity seemed to crackle along the ground itself. They seemed to strike at every building in the village, hissing and spitting like a monstrous serpent before a single bolt of blue-white light seemed to leap up from the center of the village and back toward the tormented sky above.  
The sound itself was like dozens of large drums, mingled with the ringing of a huge gong.

Any villager standing on the green was picked up by the blast and tossed like a spoiled child heartlessly casting away a once favorite doll.  
While the villagers were picking themselves up from the ground they called home, the village Elder let out a cry of alarm!

In the exact center of the village green, there was now an ugly looking scar. It was a black and brown pit gouged from the ground by the blast of the lightning strike.

“Hay, we need some help over here!” the Elder cried out.

All of the men who had managed to stand up again came running, although most of them staggered as if they were drunk because the flash of lightning had stolen their sight away for a few moments.  
Before the echo of the elder’s voice passed away into the receding storm, a dozen men stood with the elder at the rim of the black crater. The black mist rising from the hole had an odd, refreshing scent to it before it was taken away by the calming wind that followed the great storm.

When the last of the smoke had blown away, a shape could be made out at the very bottom of the hole.

It was a shape that any villager knew.

A basket.

And from the shape of it, not just debris from the storm.  
This basket was crying, just as loudly as one small voice could manage!

The crater itself was steep, and its sides taller than any man in the village. But they all locked arms, and one of the local Enutrofs managed to hook a shovel blade onto the basket's handle and lift it up and out of the crater. With the gentlest of care, it was set down a safe distance from the hole.

Almost at once, a female Enripsa with a florid face elbowed her way to the front and hovered over the basket.  
The edges of the blanket were black with soot, but there was no damage as the healer tucked the blanket back, to reveal the crying voice from within the basket.

It was a baby boy, wearing an unusual soft cap that seemed to cover him more like a felt blanket.

Out from under the cap that also had a long, soft “Tail” on it, there spilled a mop of ink black hair.

“He seems to be fine.” Felice told the group of onlookers.

“The basket must have been picked up by the storm winds and carried here.” Said one of the men.

“Likely some family caught on the road by the storm.” Said another.

Then, the elder held up his hand, and all the talking stopped.  
“Whoever this lad is, he needs our help right now.”

“I quite agree.” Felice replied. “He should be kept warm and dry for now. Who he might be, we can sort out later.”

“Very well, Felice.” The elder replied. “I shall leave him to your capable hands then.” The elder answered. “For now, this night isn’t fit for man or Gobballs.” The Elder went on. “For now, everyone go home, and we’ll wait to see what the morning brings.”

The other men of the village nodded eagerly, for every one of them wanted to get out from under the storm.

As all of them departed, Felice gathered up the basket gently. Her own house was only a few steps distant.

As she fluttered into her home with her basket and closed her heavy wooden door behind the weather, The Enripsa looked down at the boy, and saw something the Elder had missed.

The boy with the soft cap and black hair also had a beautiful pair of gentle eyes that radiated a soft blue glow as the baby smiled up at her.

“I can’t say what tomorrow will bring.” Felice said speaking to the smiling baby. “But I think I’ve been lucky enough this storm tossed night.”

Felice set the basket down on an overstuffed chair next to a low but warm fire.

“Now, let’s see if we can find us both something to eat.” The Enripsa told the baby.

“Then let’s try to find out just who you might be, so far from home. And not just from down the road, if I’m any judge.”

The black-haired boy cooed softly in agreement.

The baby boy had a healthy appetite, and was soon snug and warm, sleeping near the fire.

The next morning dawned bright and blissfully calm.  
The baby boy had slept through the night, uncaring in his innocence at what his uncertain future might hold.  
His sweet quiet didn't make what Felice had to do next any easier.

The Enripsa healer sensed that she could leave the boy alone long enough to check on the injured around  
Amakina.

So Felice collected her familiar basket of healing herbs and brushes and slipped quietly out of her house to tend to wounded citizens, and to see the village elder.

Thankfully, last night's unnatural storm had done no major damage except to property around the village. Felice was able to float directly across the village green and into the living room of the village elder, whose front door was always open during the day.

"Aris?" She seemed to whisper gently to no one in the room. But then there was a soft rustling movement from behind the great pile of papers stacked on the table at the far end of the room.

"Felice!" The oldest inhabitant of the village spoke up brightly. "So glad to see you made it through last night."

"That's part of the reason I'm here, Aris." Felice began slowly, not knowing exactly how to bring up the subject without evoking frightening memories of the worst night the village could remember.

"It's about our newest resident. You know, the one who arrived last night." Felice began. As she spoke up she saw the older man's eyes brighten.

"Oh yes, with all the confusion around here this morning, and figuring out what needs rebuilding, I'd forgotten all about him." Aris said almost casually. "Was he hurt in any way by his unusual arrival?"

"He's as sound and bright as a newly minted Kama." Felice replied. "But I still know nothing at all of who he is, nor where he came from." The healer added.

"We could get Celia Starshine to draw us a picture of the baby." Aris replied. "Then we can prepare posters and handbills that can be taken from town to town and posted until we find the young lad's parents." The elder continued.

"There's only one problem." Felice replied slightly downcast at the prospect. "We don't know what to call him." The Village Healer continued. "If he's listed as an abandoned child, anyone might come and take him away."

"For now there is not much more we can do, Felice." The village elder replied. "We'll have to deal with identifying the boy when and if someone comes to claim him."

Felice nodded, not bothering to hide her glum expression.

"Aris?" Felice asked quietly, almost under her breath.  
Aris and Felice were childhood friends. Both had lived in the rural village almost their entire lives. Aris knew the gentle plaintiff tone Felice was using.

"What is it my dear?" Aris asked gently, letting drop his title and office, and simply opening his heart to a lifelong friend.

"How long might it be before we can consider adopting the lad here in the village?"

Aris looked into Felice's gentle blue eyes, and understood what was behind the question.

"That will depend on how many inquiries we get once the hand bills and posters have been distributed." Aris replied, sounding a little less like an official, and more like a friend. "I would say any time between six months, and a year."

The troubled expression on Felice's round, cherubic face seemed to transform with the energy of gentle hope.

"It's decided then." Felice replied. "There's all sorts of room in my house, and I haven't forgotten how to see to the needs of a newborn."

"Taking care of him while we concentrate on repair and rebuilding for now would probably be best." Aris replied. "We'll leave it like that for the present and foreseeable future."

"Thank you Aris. Thank you so much, for both of us." Felice replied as she scooped up her happily unneeded wicker basket full of supplies and seemed to float out of the house on something besides the morning breezes.

As she fluttered across the village green still littered with flotsam tossed here and there by the storm, Felice spied a young Cra. Her flowing red locks and determined expression as she worked to help the villagers cleanup the mess showed an inner strength that Felice admired.

"Celia?" Felice called out with happiness in her voice, for she was glad to see one of her best friends unharmed after the terrible storm.  
The redheaded girl smiled in the Enripsa's direction as she fluttered closer.

"Good morning Felice!" Celia replied casually. "That certainly was one wild night."

"Indeed it was, Cici. “But also a night touched with magic." Felice replied. "I need a favor if you wouldn't mind." Felice confessed gently.

"Whatever I can do, you already know that." Cici replied.  
"When you're done out here, stop by my place, if you would. And bring some parchment, and your charcoal sticks."

Celia's young face lit up like the rising sun burning through the morning haze. "You need me to draw for you?" Cici inquired with an air of anxious anticipation.

Felice was delighted to smile and nod. "Yes my dear, and since you have a gift for art, you’re just the one I need to help me." Felice replied as she found herself enjoying the happy expectation that she saw in Cici's expression.

"Let me take this load of litter to the dump, then I'll get my supplies, and come right over."

"Thank you Cici. In gratitude for your help, the least we can do is to make you breakfast. Please come by whenever you're ready."

Felice seemed to zip across the village green toward her house with a renewed air of anticipation, leaving Cici with one unanswered question on her lips.

"We?" The young Cra artist mused out loud.

A short while later, Felice was flitting around her sideboard, working to restore her supply of healing potions. Her almost constant flow of mixture and bottling was interrupted by a knock at the door.  
Felice put down her pestle with a smile. She already knew who it was.

"Come in Cici, and make yourself comfortable!" The Enripsa hollered to the rooms behind her.

She came around the corner to see the young Cra staring transfixed at the wicker basket holding the Enripsa's newest house guest.

"Hello Cici!" Felice said gently by way of breaking the spell. The young Cra looked around and smiled at the greeting.

"He's darling!" Cici said, dropping her voice by reflex as she spoke. "His dark hair really brings out those blue eyes. I bet he breaks more than a few hearts as he grows up." Cici remarked casually.

She had taken parchment and charcoal from the bag on her shoulder, and was already beginning to sketch as she spoke.

Felice giggled good-naturedly at Cici's comment. "I bet he will at that. But before then, we have to find out who he is, and where exactly he belongs." Felice responded.

Cici gave a short nod, and concentrated on her drawing with renewed effort. Even before Felice could manage to set up tea for both of them, Cici triumphantly held up a single page of parchment for Felice to see.

The likeness on the sheepskin page stopped Felice as she hovered in midair. The likeness of the dark-haired foundling was so accurate it took the healer's breath away.

"My stars, Cici that's amazing!” Was all that Felice could manage to say. The more she looked at the charcoal drawing the more accurate it became. Until she realized that Cici hadn't missed even the smallest detail in what could be seen in the basket before her. The image was absolutely accurate and haunting in its lifelike quality.

Cici could only manage a modest smile. As a Cra, having a good eye was a matter of eating or going hungry, not only for herself, but for many people in the village as well.

"The girl I remember drawing puffy clouds on a summer’s day certainly has talent." Felice complimented gently.

This time, Cici blushed, with even the tips of her pointed ears turning slightly pink.

It was hard for most of the villagers to forget that Felice had been taking care of most of them since they had been children themselves.  
Cici now turned her usual critical eye on her own work, and began to fix up small points and details of the sketch.  
It was then that the sharp eyed archer caught sight of a line in the sketch that didn't belong. Cici glanced back at her subject in real life, and could just see the edge of something peeking out from under the fluffy "tales" on the unusual hat the baby boy wore.

"Hey Felice, what's that?" Cici asked almost in passing as she cleaned up the sketch.

Cici's odd question brought Felice close to the basket, hovering over the spot Cici had indicated.

Then, the Enripsa Healer saw something she had missed before.  
Felice gently brushed the hat and its tail to one side. Almost lost from sight in the folds of the blanket, tucked in underneath the boy there was a glint from a metallic object. It was too large to be a coin. But Cici recognized it almost at once.

"It looks like a medallion of some sort." The Archer turned artist exclaimed as she dipped in two fingers to extract the bit of metal from the basket.

But a moment later, Cici paused, holding the metal piece in the flat of her palm so that Felice could see it. It's bright golden surface was inlaid with forms and symbols around its entire circumference. But it's round edges ended in an ugly charred black line where the medallion had been neatly melted and probably shattered in the process.

"It looks as if that was hit by a... " Cici began.

"By a bolt of lightning." Felice finished with an amazed whisper in her voice.

"Who would put a lightning talisman in a baby's basket?" Cici asked gravely as Felice hovered behind her looking over her shoulder at the strange alphabet engraved on the face of the round metal disk.

"I can't say right off." Felice answered. "But there is something familiar to me about that engraving."

"A magic spell of some sort?" Cici asked becoming more intrigued looking at the dark-haired boy than the golden disk she held in her hand.

"That would be my guess, Cici." Felice answered honestly. "But where it came from, and what sort of magic it really is, we can only discover as time passes." Felice added. The healer's expression now carried just a touch of worry.

"Well, all babies have a touch of magic about them." Cici observed as she smiled at the dark-haired boy in the basket, who was quick to smile back. "It just may be that our boy has a little bit more than most."

"I think you may be right, Cici." Felice answered. "What direction the magic takes will depend on how he grows up." The healer continued.

"Well then, it'll just be up to us to make sure that everything comes right."

That observation brought a beam of happiness to Felice's round rosy cheeks and face.

Cici could already feel what Felice's dearest hope was for the baby boy. For, as a Cra, the eyes of an archer gave the young girl not only sight, but sometimes an uncomfortable amount of insight.

“Would you trust me with this, Felice?” Cici asked. “I think I remember this alphabet from a book that my grandmother gave me. I’d like to try reading what’s on this medallion.”

“Go right ahead my dear.” There’s absolutely no one that I trust more.” Felice replied with her usual warm smile. “For now, can you spare the time for a nice cup of tea?” Felice asked. “It’s rose grass. Sweet and savory. I remember that as being your favorite.”

Cici took a seat at the small table with the proper manners of a guest. “It would be my pleasure, Felice. That way we can talk some more about the baby.”

Felice smiled once more and hummed happily as she poured tea for both of them and took her place at the table at a spot which also allowed her to watch over the baby basket not far distant.

Word of Cici's remarkable sketch spread quickly throughout the village. Before curfew that night, most of the villagers had visited Felice to see the remarkable drawing and it's even more interesting subject.

Before the next day was out most of the villagers had also seen how Felice doted on the village’s newest resident.  
Most of them had fond memories of Felice tending to the cuts, scratches, and scrapes of their childhoods. The entire village was happy that the Enripsa healer had found someone else to bring her the happiness she deserved.

The following day, Aris decided to leave the village, and make his way to Astrub, where one of the town's artisans carved Cici's remarkable portrait of the foundling into a woodcut block from which printed copies could be made.

While it took him most of the day, Aris had also been careful enough to leave prints of the picture posted in the local inn, and at the militia offices in the larger city.

After he returned to the village late under the moonlight the village elder was careful to be both optimistic and sympathetic toward Felice and her new house guest. But Aris himself had felt a keen pang of disappointment after posting the baby's remarkable likeness at the Astrub Inn, without any recognition at all from the many patrons that had turned the venerable building into a second home after the devastation wrought by the unnatural storm.  
For the moment, Aris realized he had done all that one person could do, and from that point on, events would have to trust to luck.

He had also brought back to his own village vivid descriptions of the destruction and damage in towns like Astrub, and larger cities much farther away than that.

While in the larger city, Aris had seen and spoken with guard captains from both Bonta and far off Brakmar, who had come with troops to help maintain order in badly damaged Astrub. Aris did Felice another kindness, by neglecting to mention that no one in any of the guard detachments from the distant cities, nor anyone from Astrub, showed any recognition of the lost baby boy.

For now, the village elder had to look to his own people and their needs. Amakina had been fortunate compared to some of the smaller villages and larger cities Aris had seen on his journey. 

But there was more work to be done here at home, and the fate of their village was more important than one foundling. The baby was in the best of hands, and the villagers had larger problems. So no one at all took it amiss as the foundling became just another member of their community.

The days following the storm seemed to bring the village together like very few things even the elders could remember.

There was so much to be repaired, and so much to be rebuilt that the villagers simply formed themselves into one large work gang and pressed on from house to house and building to building. They worked together on each structure and home in turn, until it was repaired or rebuilt.

But one day, over springtime lunch on the village green, Felice could hold her curiosity no more.

As Cici sat down with her lunch plate, Felice floated up on the other side of the table across from her.

"Have you had any luck with that strange medallion, Cici?" Felice asked, trying not to sound anxious or afraid of the reply she might receive.

"Not much." Not even my grandmother's books on ancient languages had very much about which language it might be. But I have a hunch." Cici replied sounding both casual and tantalizing in the same moment.

"Do tell!" Felice replied urgently.

Cici smiled, unable to keep her friend in suspense any longer.

"Like I said, I'm no expert." She began slowly. "But if I had to bet my bow on it, I would bet that it's Draconic." Cici revealed, weighing each of her words as she spoke.

Felice felt a jolt of excitement pass through her, one that made her wings vibrate a bit more than usual. "How fascinating!" Felice replied, almost afraid to ask the next question. "How much of it can you actually read?" She asked, her voice quivering with excitement.

"I found what looks like the Draconic alphabet written in the margins of one of my grandmother’s diaries." Cici explained. "Using her letters, I have been able to read one word that is engraved more than once on the medallion. It sounds like a name." Cici teased with a smile.

"Don't you dare keep me in suspense like this, Cici!" Felice exclaimed across her bowl of soup.

"The name seems to translate to "Shibune" from the old magic text." Cici revealed to her friend, who had suddenly forgotten all about her soup.

"Shibune." Felice rolled the name over across her tongue, and across her mind. "It's strange, but not bad." The healer considered.

"In draconic, it's three symbols." Cici advised. "There's no equivalent in our language for the last symbol. But if you shorten it to "Shibu" it matches our language perfectly." Cici added between slow sipping spoonfuls of soup.

"Shibu." Felice repeated. "In the old tongue, it would mean "Spirit of the light." She considered for a moment. "I like it. From now on, he has a name as long as he's here."

"Shibu it is then!" Cici replied with a tone of gentle merriment.

The name seemed to heal the last of the wounds from that awful night. The jagged black crater where the dark-haired boy from the sky seem to appear had been rounded out and filled with a sturdy young tree.

The villagers gathered to dedicate the sapling and its growth to the memory of their mutual survival, and the arrival of one unique resident in particular. The tree already had a name in her eyes. “Shibu's Oak.” Felice couldn't help but look fondly toward the tree, which seemed to be growing as fast as its namesake.

"At least will have a name to put on his birthday presents." The youthful Cra remarked casually.

Felice smiled warmly, and not necessarily because of the soup before her.

"Wouldn't that be simply lovely?" Felice asked in a dreamy voice.

"I think so. You've taken a shine to our visitor, and since no one is come to ask about him-" Cici stopped talking suddenly when she saw her friends face fall into a sad expression. "I'm sorry, Felice." Cici remarked, going quiet on purpose at the table.

"No, no my dear." Felice replied, bucking up her spirits as she spoke. "It's been six months, and no one anywhere seems to know anything about this boy." Felice answered with a touch of sadness. "Except for everyone around here."

"I certainly wouldn't mind if he stayed." Cici remarked casually. "You are the happiest I've seen you in a long time, and I think the village needs children- or child- to be complete." Cici added with a warm smile.

Felice returned the warm expression. She knew it was true better than anyone. Even in the midst of the wreckage and devastation of the village and surrounding countryside, the villagers had also come together to provide the basic needs for the infant boy. Almost at once, it was as if every man in the village, and every boy too, had become a father or a big brother to the village’s newest arrival.

Villagers of all ages would arrive in shifts every few hours at Felice's door, volunteering to feed and hold the dark-haired boy until he burped.

The other ladies of the village had risen to the unique challenge of raising a child together. A few hardy souls had volunteered to come and stay in Felice's living room. a few days at a time as the weeks and then months rolled by. This allowed the village healer to sleep through the night, restoring her needed powers while the dark-haired boy was fed and cared for through the nights at the same time.

Everyone with eyes could see how quickly he was growing, and what a wonderful, smiling and quiet child he could be. In the end, Felice understood that there was no one in the village, or the entire World of the Twelve who wouldn't want to adopt the boy if the chance came. So, in a fashion, all of them did just that.

But all of them understood that somehow, Shibu seemed to belong especially to Felice, and no one was prepared to argue the point in the face of her glowing happiness.


	2. Celebration

A few days later, the entire village threw itself into preparations for a unique festival. It's first purpose was to celebrate the official naming and adoption of the villages newest member. But Aris and the other village elders understood things more deeply than that. Nearly a year of unrelenting work had gone into rebuilding the village since that faithful and stormy night.

The elders understood that everyone needed a chance to have fun, and to celebrate their accomplishments in restoring and expanding the village.

None was more energetic in these preparations then Felice herself. The villager’s favorite healer seemed to be everywhere, and doing everything. But Felice was never far from Shibu, and could always be found back at her house when it was time for the boy to be fed, bathed, or otherwise in need.

The villagers themselves greeted the elders proclamation of a special festival with the same sort of energy as they had put into the rebuilding of the village.  
All the craftsmen and artisans of the village contributed both gifts for Shibu and celebration pieces for the festival. Every craft was represented, from ice carving to cool the springtime punch, to the miners, who pressed themselves to double shifts to bring the rarest of stones to the communal festival.

The time reckoned to be Shibu's first birthday was going to be less of an intimate party, and more like a coming-of-age for both the boy and the village at large.

There was another unique aspect to the common festivities.  
Because no one was quite sure of his needs, nor of his likes, each of the unique races that made up the village contributed gifts unique to their own outlook as Shibu's birthday gifts.

Cici, being one of several Cra who called the village home worked far into the nights to craft a special bow and arrow set for the young boy. Firstly, she made it safe, using durable wood and wood resins to make a genuine bow and arrow, but to alter the arrow in particular just enough so that it could not harm any living thing. In this way, Shibu could play and learn to understand how and why a bow and arrow worked, and as he grew up he could also understand the responsibility of using a weapon. This was the gift unique to the people who lived by the bow.

The Enutrof miners fashioned small gifts made from Kama coins contributed by each of them. And as a group gift, the miners commissioned the crafting of a unique shovel made especially for the boy.

And so each race and culture in the village commissioned and presented their own gifts for Shibu. All this was done in the understanding that it might be some time before the boy could actually use or benefit from the gifts. But the feelings and lessons put into each gift would be something that would come with time and experience for the boy.

This was enough to let the other villagers feel their part in raising the village’s newest member.

So, everyone in the village had something to do, both with the celebration itself, and the gifts that made the birthday celebration into something much more profound.

The farmers, bakers, and artisans of the craft of food were not misrepresented. There was a friendly competition between them in presenting cakes, bread, and even beverages that were safe and appetizing for both young and old alike.

Each and every villager found something to contribute, and added their own labor as an additional gift for the celebrations. Anticipation ran high, along with the pace of the labor as the day of the festival approached. Felice and Cici had another unique role in the preparations.

The tailors and the boot makers had worked as hard as any of the artisans over the last year, to provide baby Shibu with a wide range of clothes. The day before the festival, it was up to Felice and Cici to decide what the boy would wear to his very first birthday party, and to the festival. 

It seemed to take up every minute of their ultimate day of preparations, but Cici lent a calm and deliberative air to temper the nonstop excitement which kept Felice both moving and incandescent with purpose.

The evening of the party finally arrived. It had been a day of light work for everyone, as the entire village prepared for what had become a holiday in all but name.

It began in the early evening, about the same time that the strange storm had started last year. All the villagers had gathered on the green where a jagged lightning bolt had leapt up from the ground and into the storm tossed heavens. The event also left a basket and a very special boy to mark the occasion of the wild storm.

Felice and Cici gently carried the basket out onto the green between them. Their arrival was met by hoots, happy whistles, and cheering from the assembled villagers. Celebratory singing and the flow of various beverages began almost at once, along with the carving of several roasted Gobballs, which had actually begun cooking at dawn that day, so the meat might be ready for the celebration.

Felice wasn't one for public speaking, and being a Cra, Cici was used to letting her bow speak for her in front of any sort of crowd. So the village elders took the initiative, rising as a group the eldest men and women in the village gently approached the basket, now set out on a table, as young Shibu was swiftly transferred from the basket to the first of his many birthday gifts. It was an intricately carved wooden highchair, designed especially for one special boy. It had a swing down tray which made room for food at mealtimes, and fun for the rest of the time. The village carvers had obviously worked on it for tens of hours at a time, for it was as solid a gift as it was sentimental.

Felice felt tears of joy, as she flew into the group of a half dozen artisans whose life was wood, and embraced all of them warmly in turn. In truth, Felice had known most of them all of their lives, and the artists and community were as happy to give a gift like this as Felice herself was to share in it.

There was a pause in the festivities, as the first course of a birthday feast for the entire village was served to each of the attendees.

But the very first plate of unique softer food was set before the birthday boy, with a celebratory song sung surprisingly on key by the entire village!

It had been a contentious month for the villages newest resident. Shibu was growing so fast, that both Felice and Cici could see it vividly in the weekly sketches of the boy, which Cici had formed into a unique diary. He had already outgrown a half a dozen baskets, and four different cradles. The basket in which he had been found had become something of a village treasure, for it was now kept on display in the home of Aris, the Village Elder.

Shibu was quiet and even-tempered, even with the pain of teething that had finally allowed him solid food rather than soft for the first time in his life. The baby had developed a hearty appetite, knew when feeding times were, and also what he liked to eat. To Cici’s delight, that meant almost everything put in front of him. Once it was cut into pieces small enough for him to chew with his new teeth, the young boy ate almost anything.

Shibu had also begun to recognize and react to the comings and goings of individual villagers. They came every day in a steady stream to spend a few moments with the young boy before going off to a days work in the mines, in the forests or the workshops of the village.

Cici noticed Shibu's tendency to try to imitate sounds he often heard around the house, or from the village beyond it. She could tell the boy was bright and happy, and this made everyone else happier. Shibu's simple joy at everything shone outward to the entire village, and by the end of his first year thanks to the love returned by the villagers around him, young Shibu wanted for absolutely nothing.

Even as gifts unique to each of the races in the World of the Twelve were showered on the young boy, Shibu seemed to recognize each gift.

He wore a happy smile and many excited sounds marked each gift of the dozen placed in his hands for a moment so that he could hold them. Cici was especially proud when Shibu took hold of the miniature bow that she had spent hours crafting for him. Shibu didn't want to let go of this gift, as he had the others which were taken from his hands and gently laid aside with reverence and gratitude once they had been examined and smiled at by the birthday boy.

Felice noted happily that Shibu's hearty appetite continued as he finished his first plate of food completely, and to Felice’s surprise, mostly by himself with the aid of a large wooden spoon which one of the carvers had turned out of a block of soft pine.

Felice smiled gently at the boy who had become the light of her life.

"Would you like some more, Shibu?" Felice asked gently in softly spoken and slow words that She was already sure Shibu could understand.

Felice hadn't been strict about many things where the boy was concerned. But there was one rule she set down the could never be broken by anyone, even the elders in the village.

No one, no matter their age or station was allowed to speak "baby talk" or to make ridiculous noises at him when he was sad or angry. The village healer insisted unerringly that everyone who came to see Shibu speak properly and correctly while the baby could hear them.

This had an almost immediate effect, as both Felice and Cici already knew the increasing vocabulary of words Shibu could understand. Both the healer, and the young female Ranger talked to Shibu all the day long as if he were just another villager come to visit.

Shibu's soft and beautiful blue eyes would take on a unique sparkle when he understood something. His understanding was as open and visible as his simple expressions. Both Felice and Cici were certain that the growing mop of jet black hair protruding from under Shibu's unusual hat covered a head that held a keen and intelligent mind. Both of them had waited almost a year in anticipation of Shibu's first words. But both had been disappointed so far. There was an ongoing joke between them that once Shibu began to talk, the only way to quiet him might be to feed him!

"Cici, take some of the gifts from the main table into the house, so we can set him at the main table with everyone else gathered around." Felice asked of her friend.

"All right." Cici replied brightly. "I'll need your help to bring out the rest of the food for the first course of the feast." Cici replied. "We also have to check on the birthday cake." She whispered much more quietly to her friend, as the village healer fluttered toward her house on rapidly vibrating wings.

About halfway through the communal meal, Felice and Cici brought out another round of plates stacked high with the best food that the village could offer, and that the two of them could prepare. Good food was a symbol of good fortune, and good times to come. Both the village healer and the Elders understood how important it was to maintain these good feelings between the people a year after a time miracles and dread, which had almost seen their village destroyed.

Felice was the first one back out onto the porch. She was carrying a small bag made of a slightly rough material that was bulging with long, thin, almost finger-like loaves of fresh-baked bread. The mainstay food was best served warm with the fresh butter that the village farmers had provided in generous quantity for the celebration.

As she looked out toward the gathering on the Village Green, Felice’s first and most natural glance was toward the highchair where Shibu was supposed to be sitting.

The realization that went along with her thought made her almost drop the bag of fresh bread.

Shibu's highchair was empty!

The instant worry and fear that came with the moment made Cici's blood run as cold as the pure water that flowed from the village well. Instinctively, she glanced around, not moving her body, nor generating any emotion that would alarm anyone. But she swept the scene before her with a trained eyes of someone who lived and died on uncanny skill with the bow.

She could not conceive of anyone in the village taking the baby for the worst of evil reasons. The first thought which flashed through her mind, was that one of the villagers had taken the boy in order to hold him for a moment, as many villagers had done during the day for the past year.

Cici also knew that no stranger could have intruded at the celebration and come to the boy through stealth. The villagers gathered around him were not only his best friends, but the helpless boy's best defense as well.

Just then, Felice fluttered out of the house, and stood next to Cici on the porch. The healer didn't need her sixth sense to instantly understand that in Cici's mind, as well as to her keen eyes, something was very wrong.

"Felice?" Cici said in a quiet but ice cold whisper. "Do you have Shibu?"

"Why no dear." Felice replied simply. "I just brought more but--" Felice broke off her reply in mid-sentence as her eyes also fell upon the empty highchair.

The two females shared a fresh jolt of cold fear across their common intuition.

The bag of bread, and the bowl of fresh butter were quickly forgotten, set aside on a small table nearby.

Together, Felice and Cici walked slowly and quietly back toward the unimpeded celebration that had now expanded to take up most of the Village Green.

Each of those first few steps hurt as much as a dozen daggers for both Felice, and Cici. For each step made the obvious all the more clear and perilous.

Shibu really was gone!

Cici's steps began to fall faster as her heart beat quickened over the next terrible moment. Beside her, Felice was moving like she had been shot from Cici's ever reliable bow!

The moment before a cry of panic rose in her throat, Cici's sharp hunter’s vision caught a familiar flash of color among the villagers walking around near the table full of gifts that had been given to the baby.

Shibu's bright blue eyes!

Cici instantly abandoned all thought, and let reflex assume control. She stepped into a quick run, a half step and jump that took her over the heads of some of the shorter villagers, and into the depth of the crowd next to the table.

Felice had been no less quick in her response. She fluttered over the heads of her friends, and quickly spiraled down toward the table as her wings slowed their vibrating beat.

Cici got to Shibu first. The young boy was holding aloft the bow that she had made for him. 

When Shibu saw Cici, the first thing the young boy did was to stand up, and gently offer the young Cra his new bow.

Cici took the gift from young Shibu with eyes wet with tears of relief. She reached down, and rather than picking up the boy and holding him like a baby, she swung Shibu up onto her shoulders, and carried the young escapee back toward the highchair.

Felice was there a moment later, taking in the surprise and the relief of the entire scene, which had gone unnoticed except by some of the keen eyed boys and girls in the village.

One of them, an Ecaflip named Dylan, ran up alongside the three of them and spoke up brightly. "Hay, Shibu walked! Super!" Dylan interjected, not understanding the moment of sheer panic that came along with the unique event.

"Yes, he did, didn’t he?" Cici asked quietly as she brushed away a tear, and looked Shibu over from top to toes with an odd half smile.

All Shibu did was to match Cici's expression with an innocent smile of his own!

As the young scamp was plopped back into the seat of the highchair, Cici gently took the Bow from Shibu and turned to lay it back on the side table alongside his other gifts.  
As the young Cra turned, Cici heard a new voice but a familiar one say two words.

"Sisi! Bow!"

The simple declarative words worked like a magic spell cast by a Master wizard.

Everyone on the Village Green was suddenly still and silent. You could have heard a Piwi nesting in the top of the tallest tree near the forest green.

"Sisi! Bow!" Shibu repeated for all to hear!

This time, when Cici turned again on her heels and handed the small bow back to her boy, there were genuine tears in her eyes. But they had been born out of the opposite of fear.

"Yes, Shibu. Your bow." Cici answered calmly, handing the gift back to the boy. Shibu took the bow and held it close for a moment before holding it over his head with a happy laugh!

Cici was so happy that even her keen pointed ears missed the sound of the entire village cheering and whistling between their own happy smiles.

Aris ended the formal celebration that night by making a proclamation from both the mayor and the village elder. There were times when the combined offices were quite useful. On this occasion the oldest male inhabitant of the village would use the station of the office as Elder to decree that in spite of their best efforts at searching out his natural parents, no one beyond the village had claimed any relationship to the infant baby boy.

That revelation brought a moment of sadness and regret to the gaiety and laughter of the celebration itself. But it was quickly announced that the petition signed by every citizen of the village had been quickly adopted by the elders. This petition gave Shibu permanent citizenship within the village. He could therefore be adopted by the two parties who had founded the petition after Shibu's arrival. And that those two parties were Felice, The Enripsa, and Celia Starshine, of the Cra.

This eventful proclamation brought forth a new surge of happiness in celebration among the assembled villagers. There was no worry at all that technically Shibu was left without a male parent. But everyone in the village knew that all of the men and boys had become both fathers and brothers to the baby boy.

So from this night forward, according to the elders, Shibu himself was one of their number and belonged to Felice, Cici, and in a broader sense to the entire village.

Shibu, for his part, took this momentous news in the easiest way possible. Having used up what seemed to be a ferocious amount of energy on his first few steps around the party in his honor,, Shibu was soundly asleep in Cici's arms as the proclamation was read out to the villagers at large.

The newly made family returned to their homes on the edge of the village green as the party broke up midway through a brightly moonlit night.  
As they strolled back toward Felice's roundish home near the very center of the village, Cici looked up into the brightly star lit sky.

"The sky tonight is certainly different than it was a year ago." Cici remarked, even though her sentence was punctuated by a gentle yawn.

"A better set of stars, and the sight of the sea dragon for Shibu." Felice replied. "You don't usually see this many stars under such a bright moon. I hope it's a good sign of things to come." Felice added with a smile.

"My Grandmother's place is closed up." Cici said at last. "I'll spend the night with the two of you, if you don't mind that is. That way, you can catch up on your sleep." Cici remarked.

"Our home is your home, Cici. Because tonight, I not only have a son, but I now have a younger sister." Felice replied casually as if she was still talking about the weather.

It took quite a feat of balance for Cici to hug Felice close while cradling one arm full of her sleeping Shibu. But Cici managed it all the same.

"Thank you and Shibu so much. I was missing something in my slightly wild life, until the two of you came along." Cici replied with a warm smile. "Now I have both of you as a family, and perhaps that was what we all needed."

"And who was it who said that hunters couldn't be deep thinkers?" Felice asked in response as the door to her home unlocked and opened in front of the trio. "Welcome home, Shibu and Cici." Felice said with a kind and sympathetic voice. "Go on in now. We need to put Shibu down for a nap at the very least."

"Knowing my little brother the way I do, Shibu will be up and ready to go again in a couple of hours." Cici replied as the trio walked into the living room, and the incantation on the door closed and locked it behind them.

Cici took an extra half dozen steps through the wooden arched interior doorway which led to the bedroom. She started to put Shibu back into the larger rocking cradle, but then she paused. Instead, Cici pulled Shibu's favorite blanket out of the cradle itself, and arranged an extra pair of small cushions on the bed, before sitting Shibu down and covering him with his favorite blanket. The sleepy boy woke just enough to smile and let out a happy sound before falling into a deep and relaxed sleep.

"Cici, that's wonderful!" Felice remarked as she fluttered in next to the bed.

"It's just that life has already separated him from one family. I don't think anything, not even a cradle, should separate him from this one." Cici replied.

"Bravo, my dear." Felice replied gently. "All the time you've spent close to us has you thinking like an Enripsa, as well as a Cra."

"I hope we can teach Shibu to think the same way." Felice remarked. "He came to us a stranger, like no one had ever seen in this village. But I want him to learn everything that all the other races can teach, as much as we can."

"A gift from a noble heart is the best gift of all." Felice replied. "Shibu received many fine gifts tonight, but I think the one you just gave him is the best of them all." Felice replied looking into Cici's sparkling eyes as they gleamed in the low fire light.

"Come along my dear." Felice said at last. "If your intuition is correct as it always seems to be, will have to catch a short nap ourselves before Shibu has us all awake to start another day."

Cici nodded. Suddenly, she was taken by an impulse she had never felt before, but was bound to obey. She reached over, and kissed Felice gently upon her cheek, before bending slightly to do exactly the same thing to Shibu.

"Good night, family mine. I'll see you in the morning when the sun is bright."

"Good night Cici. Bright arrows guide you through the dark night to the morning Sun." Felice responded. It was a Cra blessing that Cici had spoken every night over Shibu's cradle.

Very soon, the trio was arranged on Felice's vast, comfy feather bed, under a comfy quilt, with Shibu under his own blanket, sleeping contentedly between them.


	3. A Boy and his Bow

From the night of his birthday party when Shibu first walked, both Felice and Cici were quick to discover that their little brother had an absolute genius for getting into things.

Most of the time, this was a source of amusement for Felice, because she was more accustomed to dealing with younger patients. For Cici, it was slightly less fun, as the young Cra quickly learned that Shibu's curiosity would not be satisfied, until the young scamp was actually shown and told about the items that raised his never-ending curiosity.

Shibu moved quickly from getting into things just for the sake of exploring to the point where the young boy actually wanted to understand what he was curious about. Felice took full advantage of this pleasant turn of events, allowing Shibu controlled free reign in both her workroom and library. As she worked and watched over Shibu during the day, the black haired toddler would bring her objects taken from the shelves around her workroom, and present them to Felice with an air of triumph. But unlike others of his age, Shibu’s attention did not wander to the next object which caught his attention. Instead, he would give some familiar object to Felice, and then wait, looking up at her expectantly with large cute eyes that had an irresistible blue shimmer about them. Whenever she could manage it, Felice would stop what she was doing, take the object in hand, and sit Shibu in her lap, explaining to the young boy in slow spoken simple language what the object was, and what it was used for. Often, she would demonstrate the object or objects, such as the mortar and the pestle used for grinding, and powdering herbs, spices and other ingredients for natural medicines.

Felice, like Cici before her, was quick to notice that once young Shibu was shown something, and had a chance to do it for himself, the young boy possessed a truly keen memory that allowed Shibu to remember and repeat whatever he was told and shown.

As weeks and then months passed throughout the following year, both Felice and Cici volunteered large amounts of their time to satisfying Shibu's nearly insatiable curiosity about every object that the young lad could manage to pick up.

This hopeful trend continued into Shibu's childhood. 

One spring morning, Felice found herself short on the simple healing potions used by the villagers for life's aches, pains, and accidents. 

Mixing more of the ubiquitous potions came as easily to Felice as flying. But as she set out the mortar, the pestle, and the rest of her equipment, young Shibu tugged anxiously at her elbow.

"Let me try, mom, please?"

"All right dear." Felice replied. "If you're old enough to ask, you're old enough to learn, and that means you have to learn by doing. Come sit in mother's lap, and will do the first potion together. Then you can try."

Shibu had just celebrated his birthday. This time with a lot less celebration than the last year. So Felice thought that she owed her boy a birthday present of some sort.

Felice felt sure that this was the best gift she could give him.

So Felice fluttered down onto one of the short stools at the edge of the bench where she kept her equipment, and a few handy books. Shibu quickly squirmed into her lap, looking over the edge of the table with an eager gaze as Felice forced herself to slow down and execute the steps of the potion making process so Shibu could see and understand them.

"First, can you tell me what this flower is, Shibu?"

"Umm..Sage!" Shibu interjected after a moment's thought.

"That's right!" Felice replied with a great big smile, tousling Shibu's thick black hair gently. "Can you tell me what comes next?"

Felice asked as she crushed the sage gently into a powder and dropped it into a mixing bowl.

"Spring water!" Shibu said confidently, as if it was something that everyone and anyone knew.

"Right again, Shibu. You are a smart one, aren't you?"

Shibu's self-confident smile lit up Felice's heart like a warm fire on a winter night.

"Now, what's the last thing we need?" Felice asked, already sure that Shibu knew, just as Felice did.

This time, Shibu reached out to collect a small bowl sitting just to one side of the mortar. "Mint!" Shibu piped up proudly.

"Yes my boy!" Felice said, taking the bowl from Shibu and adding a few of the green leaves to the mix before crushing it in the mortar with the pestle. Then Felice added the spring water from a small clear bottle sitting close at hand.

"Now we mix all the good things from nature, to get the medicine inside." Felice told her young assistant.

Shibu nodded, watching the process with an intense look of study.

"We mix all these together." Felice began. "Then we grind them, to mix up the medicine itself."

Felice took the pestle, and dropped it into the stone mortar. She pushed down with the pestle, turning it slowly to the left with one hand, while her other hand turned the bowl to the right. It took no more than a few moments to do, but Felice was being slow, and fighting the memory of the muscles that had mix the potion purely by instinct so many times before.

"Three times around, the bowl turns. Then the medicine is done." She told Shibu carefully. "Now, Shibu, open that empty bottle."

The young herbalist did as he was instructed. He held the bottle steady to let Felice poor the extract of water and herbs into the bottle from the mortar.

Once again, Felice moved slowly so that Shibu could see all that she was doing. As the last drop of the extract plopped slowly into the bottle, it was Shibu who put in the glass stopper. He set the sealed bottle back on the bench in front of Felice with the biggest smile Felice had ever seen from her son.

Felice smiled in return, and kissed the boy sweetly in the middle of his forehead. "There now!" That's the first potion of the new season, done. But we need to make many more to help people." Felice explained to Shibu. "So you think you would like to help me make potions for everyone?" Felice asked expectantly, as Shibu looked on with a gentle glow in his vivid blue eyes.

"Yes mother, I can help you." Shibu replied with the same confident smile Felice had seen a moment before.

"Well I think you can too!" Felice answered. "I think you'd be good at it." Felice encouraged as she smiled at him.

Shibu return the compliment with a sprightly giggle. Then, Shibu suddenly turned thoughtful. "How many, mom?" Shibu asked.

"You've seen the big brown chests in the storage room?" Felice asked.

The truth was that Shibu had done more than to look inside them. The empty chests were one of his favorite places to play. "Yes mom. Shall I bring one?" Shibu asked eagerly.

"Not just now dear. Will do more bottles of potions, and then put them all away at one time. Each of those chests can hold 100 potions like this." As Felice explained she held up the bottle that the two of them had just filled together. “Before springtime is over, let's fill both chests with healing potions."

"All right mother. We can do it together." Shibu replied bright and eager.

"That's my sweet boy!" Felice replied, making Shibu giggle softly as she rubbed noses with him.

"We'll need to gather a lot of sage and a lot of mint." Felice told her son.

"I'll help too, Mom!" Shibu interjected again.

"Well before we start in, we better eat something. Are you hungry, Shibu?"

It was a question with only one answer where Shibu was concerned, and Felice knew it.

The boy was always hungry. His favorite foods were dried fruits, and fresh bread. Now it was spring, and Felice could add fresh eggs to breakfast. They were among Shibu's favorite foods.

Felice got up from her seat at the potion making bench, leaving Shibu sitting there as he leafed through one of the ancient books Felice had read to him over the winter. Every once in a while the boy would brighten, and point excitedly at the illustrations of different flowers and grasses. Most of these grew in abundance around the edge of the village, particularly with the coming of spring. After the two finished off a quick and hearty breakfast, Felice would take her son by the hand, and fluttering at his side, she lead the boy around the newly spreading grass of the village green on a nature walk.

Felice was delighted to discover that Shibu could collect sage and mint on sight, and could identify most of the wildflowers and spring grasses that were also a part of herbal medicines. Before the two of them had finished one loop around the village green, her herb basket was packed full, and Felice and Shibu could head back for the potion making bench.

The young boy took to potions with an enthusiasm that was at once both admirable, and somewhat frightening.

Once again, Felice showed Shibu every step of what had to be done, in a clear concise way. Shibu's ability to copy her movements almost exactly was one of the most haunting things Felice had ever seen. But there was also quality and a devotion to Shibu's every effort. 

Everything he tried to do, from the simplest things to the most difficult, he did with attention, discipline, and most of all persistence. It was the last one which allowed the young boy to progress in his skills as both a potion maker, and under Cici's tutelage, a more and more skilled archer.

By the time he was six, Shibu had grown tired of having only one arrow for the bow that had been given to him on his first birthday, and had been adjusted for him as he grew.

One of the greatest moments in Cici's young life was when Shibu brought to her all the components needed to make an arrow. Shibu brought them, and his wide open eyes to her. Rather than ask that she make an arrow for him, Shibu asked to be taught to make arrows by himself.

Cici nearly wept with joy.

She spent three days and nights with Shibu at her elbow, as she made one more simple and nonlethal arrow for his bow. Shibu seemed to soak up the process the same way soft cloth picked up water.

Every day, Shibu gathered more materials, and over the next few nights, he came closer and closer to finishing a true arrow. Cici watched Shibu work, and was startled by how methodical Shibu was as he applied what Cici had taught him on his own. Shibu's calm and focus were unique. Any other child in the village would have given up after a few minutes of work which called for concentration and care.  
Shibu focused more and more as the crafting grew more demanding. He took time and care with each step, and soon his progress quickened as he practiced. Near the end of their third night working together, Shibu brushed Cici's bare shoulder gently with a soft touch any Cra would know.

Fletching feathers. They tickled her softly as Shibu turned a shaft between his index finger and thumb!

If she lived to a fine old age, Cici would never forget the glimmer of satisfaction on his young face, as her baby brother presented his first self-made arrow to his older sister for approval.

Shibu had copied Cici's technique exactly.

He even got the fletching right, making sure the feathers were placed correctly to allow the arrow to spin, and fly straight and true.

There were few things in life that could impress a Cra more than a well-crafted arrow. Shibu had come so close to perfection that when Cici laid the arrows side-by-side, it was harder for her than she would admit to know which one of them had crafted which arrow.

Cici was even more touched when she came into the library close to dawn where Shibu now slept in a bed of his own, and found him sleeping with his bow at his side, while the new arrows were safely in the leather quiver over Shibu's bed post.

Cici knelt silently at his bedside, and kissed Shibu softly on the nose, before hanging his bow beside the quiver, and covering him with his favorite quilt.

From that moment on, Cici knew her little brother was a serious archer. His lessons could now begin in earnest.

Cici was so happy, she practically floated off to bed, just as the sun rose.

Later that year, it was time for Shibu to begin taking classes in the village school. His teachers were the village elders, and craftsmen who had known him all of his life. He proved to be the same sort of bright student he had been at Cici's elbow making arrows.

As he learned more and more, Shibu overcame some of the natural shyness which seemed to be a part of his quiet personality. Soon, he could ask intelligent, and sometimes very embarrassing questions about things which he learned, and things which he saw in the world around him.

Both Felice and Cici quickly learned that the easiest way to help Shibu understand what he wanted to know, was to both tell him honestly, and to show him what he wanted to know whenever possible.

The boy who had been raised by an entire village full of workers and craftsmen also wanted to know the same sort of thing from others that he had learned from Felice and Cici. From the Enutrof miners to the Ozmodians who cared for the tofu and the smaller animals, Shibu seemed to want to learn everything about everything, and how to do it as well as the others who had done it since they were his age.  
When Shibu asked about mining, the Enutrofs made him a larger pick, and took the young lad into a safe section of the mine where they had worked some months before. Here, the young lad chipped his first iron ore from the native rock of the ridge which bordered their village. 

Whenever Shibu was lucky enough to come upon the occasional bit of copper or cobalt, rather than keep it for himself, as many of the Enutrof miners did, Shibu would offer the bits of more valuable ore to the village Elder instead. They were usually added to the quantities mined by the Enutrof, and sold in the market to provide money to run the village.

Some of the Elders were reluctant to trust the young boy with sharp objects, so carving wood and cutting trees was something Shibu could only watch and learn for the moment. But from the lumberjacks, he learned by watching them work the right way to plan for the fall of a tree, and how to work together as a group.

This lesson in particular impressed young Shibu. While some of the others his own age spent most of their time at play in their homes, or on the village green during the summer, Shibu would go off by himself, and visit anyone and everyone who was working in the village. The first question he would always ask was if there was anything he could do to help. 

At first, some of the Elders laughed. But then, they saw the serious determination glinting in Shibu's blue eyes. They also learned quickly that no matter what job he was given, no matter how menial or ultimately meaningless it was, Shibu took to doing it like there was nothing else in the world more important to him.

Before his eighth birthday, Shibu had a standing reputation with all of the workers and craftsmen in the village. Shibu was someone they could trust to help with any job that needed another pair of hands. From clearing cartloads of loose rock from new tunnels in the mines, to sitting at home for hours happily helping Felice grind ingredients for medicine, there was nothing that Shibu did not accept as a personal challenge, and he thrived on doing the very best he could all the time. 

But Felice and Cici were always careful to balance work and play for their baby brother.  
At first, Cici was concerned when Shibu didn’t run right outside and begin playing with the other boys around the village.

Her little brother’s idea of fun was picking up one of the familiar old books in the library, and quietly sitting in the corner for hours seeming to absorb each and every word on every page of every book he found interesting.

And Shibu found them all interesting.

Cici quickly found a way to counter her baby brother's natural tendency towards quiet and solitude. His big sister was the only one in the village short of the elder who could get the young boy to put up a favorite book. Cici devised her own version of the nature walk for herself and Shibu. He had seen every local leaf, herb, weed, and tree described in detail in the books he loved so much. Cici took her brother a step further, taking him out onto the village green, and even a short way into the dense forests surrounding the village, so that Shibu could actually see the trees, the leaves, and all the other flowers and ingredients that went in to the natural medicines he helped to make with Felice.

In order to reward Shibu’s interest, Cici would enliven their walks together with something else that was one of Shibu’s most passionate interests.

Archery.

Shibu soon learned that every nature walk meant another archery lesson from his big sister who had as much skill with the bow as Felice had with the potion.

Cici and Shibu set up a familiar roundabout walk which never took them out of safe range of the village itself, but let the two of them walk away from the village, and into the natural forest without any risk of becoming lost or separated.

One of the happiest moments of Shibu’s average day came when Shibu saw Cici take her bow from over her shoulder, and actually hand it to Shibu to hold, and to balance as he learned the proper stance for an Archer from his big sister. Cici was the same as a teacher as she was a hunter. Cunning and patient. Shibu soon learned that the more he learned, and the quicker he learned it, the more willing Cici was to teach new lessons.

One afternoon, close to his ninth birthday, as brother and sister sat on a familiar pair of oak tree stumps, within a thick stand of trees, Cici could not help but notice that Shibu had something he wanted to ask.  
Shibu’s blue eyes really were mirrors of his fine, pure-hearted soul. Cici had learned to read them, the same way she had learned to track fish in a pond as the water rippled around them. Shibu’s brilliant blue eyes seemed to have a different shade and mood about them that reflected his internal feelings. It took Cici almost no effort to read her younger brother’s eyes almost as well as Shibu could read one of Felice’s venerable old books.

“All right little brother.” Cici began with a knowing smile. “I know those magical blue eyes of yours.” She told him directly. “What do you want to do?” She asked at long last, drawing out the question just a bit to tease Shibu lightly.

“Sis, I want to shoot a real, genuine arrow. Only at a target, but I want to shoot just one, please?” Shibu begged, bringing to bear the full melting power of those wonderful blue eyes.

Cici felt part of her heart turn to water, and slosh into her boots. She knew the rules that the pair of them had always had between one another. If Shibu was old enough to ask, he was old enough to experience. Cici herself had set the rules almost as soon as Shibu could walk or talk, and over the years both of them had kept faith with the other.  
This time, Cici drew a deep breath before answering Shibu’s honest desire.

“Before I teach you to shoot real arrows, Shibu. There’s something we need to talk about.” Cici began sounding solemn and serious. Slowly, Cici took her bow from her shoulder, and handed it to Shibu. Her brother took it the way she had taught him, with a sure grip using both hands. To Shibu, this bow was part of her sister’s life, like her heart, or her face, and Shibu treated it with the same gentle dignity.

“Shibu, this is my bow.” Cici began. “It is as much a part of my heart as you are.” She continued slowly. “I could never bear the thought of you being hurt, or hurting anything else with this bow, without very good reason.”Shibu listened intently; his magnetic blue eyes shimmering as Cici talked to him, archer to archer.

“You already know what I’m going to say, and why.” Cici continued after taking a moment to draw a deeper breath and gather her thoughts.

“It’s a big responsibility, little brother. Because with the bow and arrow, you can take life. I know you understand what a serious thing that is. But before I teach you to shoot your first real arrow, I need to have your promise that you shall never shoot at anything alive just for fun, or because you are angry, or for any other reason except to defend someone in trouble. My people call this Cra’s Promise.” Cici told him with a quiet, solemn tone in her voice.

Shibu looked up at his older sister with those wonderful pure blue eyes. They seemed to glow with a deeper light then Cici had ever seen from them before.

“I promise great Cra that I will never take life needlessly or in anger, and never except in need, or in defense of the weak.” Shibu repeated, suddenly sounding much deeper and much older than Cici could imagine. She was so surprised that she drew in her breath sharply at Shibu’s profound words.

“Little brother, that’s exactly right. Where did you learn Cra’s promise?” She asked quietly. She found herself so near to the edge of shock that she was glad that it was Shibu who was holding her bow.

“It was at the very end of the first book about archery you gave me to read.” Shibu replied simply, and sounding not at all smug about what he knew.

“You mean the book I gave you when you were five?” Cici asked, only half willing to believe it for a moment.

“Yeah, that’s the one. The one about Cra, and the very first bow and arrow.” Shibu answered.

Cici was so startled, that she found herself checking the depths of Shibu’s blue eyes, to see if there was any change in the pure honesty reflected in Shibu’s words.

“And you remember that, from such a long time ago?” Cici asked without missing a beat.

“Why sure, Sis. I think it’s one of the best stories ever. And I know it’s true, because my sister is the best Cra ever.” Shibu replied honestly to his older sister.  
.  
Cici broke down and cried right where she sat. She was still crying as she took back her bow, and slid it back over her shoulder. Once her arms were free, it was with an archer's deep but gentle strength that she threw her arms around Shibu in tender embrace.

“Oh Shibu, I love you so very much!” Cici told him in a whisper that not even the forest around the two of them could hear.

Shibu responded by cuddling in close, and holding onto Cici as he spoke again. “I have the best Cra, and the best sister for a teacher.” Shibu replied honestly. “When I shoot, I want to shoot like the Cra, Cici.” Shibu confessed quietly.

Cici could not help but see that as Shibu held her, Cici was dropping tears over both Shibu’s steady hands as she held them warmly in her own.

Cici looked away from her brother for just a moment, upward into the limitless twilight sky, where the constellation of the Sea Dragon was slowly rising to twinkle down on both Cici and Shibu. The young girl was an archer and hunter. She was born to the bow as surely as Shibu had been born with those brilliant, insightful blue eyes.

Cecilia Starshine was smart enough to recognize a sign from Cra when she saw one. It was as sure to her as any hoof or paw print in the forest.

“All right, little brother.” Cici replied, her gentle tears of love still falling. “You can borrow my bow, and we'll make this your very first lesson as a Cra.”

“I know you want to shoot, Shibu. I was your age once.” But your first lesson isn't shooting.” Cici told him honestly. “It's standing.”

Shibu jumped to his feet, triumphantly. His cheesy grin was so big that Cici had to laugh!

“Next lesson?” Shibu asked, grinning.

“Not so fast!” Cici answered with a smile. As she spoke, she slid her bow off of her shoulder. She extended the full sized bow to Shibu. “Try it with that, Mister Smarty-hat!”

Shibu reached for the bow, but Cici pulled it back, as if to tease Shibu with a touch of cruelty.

“Stick your arm out in front of you, all the way.” Cici instructed.

Shibu complied, his smile still holding. “This is too easy, Sis!”

Cici passed her bow into Shibu's outstretched hand. “Try it while you hold this up off of the ground.”

Shibu had to steady himself again, as the weight of the bow threw him slightly off balance. Cici's bow weighed a lot more now, or so it seemed.

“Now comes the fun part.” The Cra mentioned. “Stand on one leg.”

Shibu looked at Cici as if she was kidding. “Which leg?” Shibu asked.

“Right hand bow, left leg, Left hand bow, Right leg. Bend your knee to raise the free leg.” Cici replied, as she sat down nearby, just watching, As Shibu struggled for a moment to comply. “Good!” Cici said. “Now hold perfectly still.'

After a few minutes, Shibu wanted to move as much as he wanted to breathe. And his arm was getting tired, too.

“How long, Sis?” Shibu finally asked.

“Longer now, Little Brother. I'll come get you in a while.”

“For the next lesson?” Shibu asked hopefully.

“No, so you can switch sides. Good night, Shibu.” Cici said as she rose from her seat and walked back toward home. 

Two hours later, Cici was back, to be certain Shibu switched both her bow to the other outstretched arm, and his one legged stance to the opposite leg.

She also gave him another gift. Cici casually tossed a full sized woodsman's cloak over Shibu's shivering shoulders. Cici had warmed it lightly, using the iron skillet she always heated in the morning to cook breakfast. It was, given Shibu's numb condition, a little slice of luxury. 

Cici also dropped her archer's arms around Shibu, so he could feel her sleek muscles, built up over a lifetime of drawing a bow.

“I'm not punishing you, Sweetheart.” She whispered to him. “This is Cra's gift of strength and balance. Yours will be beyond compare, Sweet Shibu.” Cici told him.

“I love you, Big Sister.” Shibu replied.

“I love you, too, Sweetness. Breakfast will be in two hours. You get all you can eat.” Cici promised him.

Shibu nodded tightly, to keep from throwing himself off balance.

Walking away from Shibu on the edge of the woods was the most difficult thing Cici had ever had to make herself do. But as she walked back across the village green, Cici drew on her image of what Shibu would become as her source of strength.

Shibu had only fuzzy memories of the rest of the night. He didn't remember eating at all. The next thing he knew Felice was waking him at noon for lunch and then potion study. But before Shibu's body would let him stand up again, Shibu needed the soft touches of The Enripsa healing brushes.

An hour later, As Shibu made for the kitchen, to eat something he could remember, Cici was standing by the iron stove.

Cici went to hug him, but then drew back, not wanting to make Shibu feel anymore pain. “We'll use every other day for physical training, to let your body re-build.” Cici told him as he ate like he had not seen food since last winter. “Tonight, I'll set up some targets, and you can shoot.”

The thought filled Shibu with every bit of energy he spent the night before.

“You're the best, Big Sister Cici!” Shibu replied as Cici tenderly massaged Shibu's shoulders.

“Let's see if you still think so after your first one hundred shots, Little Brother.” Cici replied with a knowing and somewhat painful smile at Shibu, who had only had his toy bow up to now.

That was the next thing Cici needed to set right.

The local bowyer was also a Cra, and in Cici's guild, as well. That meant that getting Shibu a genuine bow that he could grow into a bit was as simple as asking.

But this could not, and would not be just another practice bow. Not if Celia Starshine had her way about things.

Shibu's first bow was a compound recurve design Cici had been working on for months. The design was of layers of flexible bone and softer and hard woods, mingled with sinew and leather. The short bow seemed to curve back upon itself when strung, and the double curve in the bow's rounded shape gave the somewhat smaller bow a deceptive amount of both power and range.

It was as if Cra herself had designed the perfect bow for Shibu.

Made by hand, the bow would require weeks of curing, flexing and shaping between layers. But Cici gladly paid the coin needed to add a touch of magic to the art and labor of bow making. The bow even came with it's own unique case, made of polished oak with accents of cherry wood and a block of yew. To Cici's never ending gratitude, the case had an inlaid space for a matching quiver Identical to the one Cici used, together with ten arrows, made to match the bow! It was all exquisite, and nothing was too good for Shibu in her eyes or in her heart.

Cici brought Shibu's prize home, and hid it under the huge feather bed until after breakfast the next morning.

After breakfast was done, Shibu watched, his blue eyes sparkling as Cici took one of her old gloves, and cut it down so it could become a combination forearm guard and brace for Shibu.  
As he tried it on and fastened it for the first time, Shibu practically glowed with a quiet pride.

It was the sort of moment and sensation that Shibu had earned, and Cici felt her own excitement building as she went to the bedroom, as Shibu walked into his beloved library.

After a few moments, Shibu heard a familiar voice calling to him from the other room.

"Hey, Shibu! Can you help me with something in here?" Cici called, sounding more urgent than usual.

Shibu was already moving. Almost before the sound of Cici's voice died away, he was standing beside her, as she knelt at the side of the huge bed, seemingly fishing for something slightly out of reach beneath the bed.

"Maybe you can reach it." Cici said to him.

Shibu had his own unique way of doing things. His first and best way to handle something like this was to lie down flat on the floor, to a point where he could very nearly crawl underneath the huge bed without any problem.

It took Shibu only a moment for his gently probing fingers to feel a new object in the familiar space.

"Hey, what's this?" Shibu asked as he felt the touch of polished wood beneath his fingers, and quickly pulled a wooden case from beneath the bed.

Shibu quickly glanced at Cici. His big sister said nothing, but her smile lit up the bedroom, like the light of a dozen candles.

"Go ahead, little brother, open it." Cici told him.

Shibu took the wooden case in a gentle grip, and laid it flat on the bed before opening the gold clasp set into the rich red wood.

Shibu opened the case, and the dark-haired boy seemed to become as excited as a skyrocket in flight.

At first, Shibu couldn't say anything, in spite of trying as hard as he could. He glanced from the open case, to Cici, and then back again, trying to comprehend what he saw, and to say what he felt before his heart could burst!

"After the way you handled your first lesson, Shibu." Cici began, finding it difficult to gather her own thoughts in the face of Shibu's simply radiant bliss. "I finally figured out that your play time was over. My little brother is going to be the best archer in this whole township, if I have anything to say about it." Cici told Shibu directly. "And the best archer should train with the best bow."

Shibu was so vibrant with joy that Cici could see a soft ripple in the pools of his blue eyes as her little brother took hold of her, cuddled up close, and simply cried for joy!

“You're welcome, Shibu, My Sweet Little Brother.” Cici told him, on the verge of her own tears.

“You know what happens when a Cra gets his first bow, don't you, Shibu?” Cici asked barely holding back her tears.

“You promised me one hundred shots!” Shibu replied.

“You can have as many shots as you're strong enough to take, little brother. That's your real prize. Yours as much as mine, forever and ever.”

Shibu dried his eyes gently on the back of his hand, before reaching down toward the beautiful gift.

But rather than pick up the bow, as some might expect, Shibu closed the lid, and then picked up the entire case. He stood up with the case in front of them both, as Shibu and Cici walked back toward the living room.

Shibu was careful to set the case on the large table before opening the case again with gentle care, and picking up his bow from the case as if it were made of a combination of glass and diamonds.

He took the bow in his left hand and held it comfortably while Shibu lifted the quiver from the case, and put it over his shoulder, ducking into it using his free hand. Then Shibu reached over and with one finger, gently closed the case again, making sure it was latched at the brass catch that seemed to make the fine wood glow all the more.

Shibu turned toward the door, but after a single step, Cici stopped him gently, dropping her hands onto his shoulders, and turning him gently, so she could both see and enjoy.

Everything was absolutely perfect. To Cici's eyes, the purity in what she saw matched the love flowing from Shibu's heart.

Shibu led the way by a step, as the two of them walked out of the house slowly, and across the village green, toward their special spot in the forest glade.

The spot was still technically in the village, but this was the spot where the trees grew thicker and more lush, just on the edge of the carpet of forest which headed upward toward the Ridge which was the traditional boundary for the village itself.

As Shibu stepped around a familiar tree that he had climbed ten thousand times before, he caught sight of a familiar target. It was a set of multi-color rings painted on burlap, stretched and tied across a pair of hay bails which were turned up on one end.

Shibu could not contain himself. He took five quick strides ahead, which ate up half the distance to the target. His draw from the quiver, and his first knock came to him as naturally and quickly as his own heartbeat. Before he could think about it, and by reflex alone, he was ready to shoot.

But something made him hold his fire.

Breaking all the rules he already knew, he took his eyes from his target, and turned his head to look back at Cici who was now only two steps behind him.

Cici saw in Shibu's eyes the request that the young archer had not made with his voice.

"Go on Shibu! Loose! Let's see what you have!" Cici told him with a trace of his own excitement in her voice.

Shibu's eyes snapped back to the target with an almost machine-like precision.

Still two steps behind Shibu, Cici could feel what felt at first like a change in a gentle breeze blowing across the glade. But she knew there was no wind. It was too late in the day. What Cici felt came from Shibu. It was an envelope of stillness, breathless except for Shibu breathing out very slightly a moment before the unmistakable sound of a high pitched twang filled the air.

Shibu was still more than twenty paces from the target as the arrow sped from his bow. Both of them stopped for a moment to watch.

It was the longest few seconds Shibu had ever lived, but a familiar sound seemed to ricochet like an arrow off the ancient trees around him. It was the sound of an arrow cutting the lower edge of the small circle at the center of the target!

Shibu lowered the bow slowly, allowing both the bow and the Archer to relax, clearing the tension from both.

Then, Shibu felt Cici's hands fall softly on his shoulders.

"Not bad at all, little brother. A bull's-eye is still a bull's-eye." Cici told him with a note of encouragement.

Shibu had learned years before that every Cra with a new bow hoped his first shot would be a bull's-eye. For the Cra, the shot was seen as a proper blessing for a new partnership between archer and bow.

"I was still moving a little bit, and my feet weren't quite right." Shibu replied critically.

"Good boy!" Cici interjected. "You are already thinking, but don't over think about it. Instead, think about the next shot instead." Cici replied, sounding encouraging.

"Sorry if I was a little too quick, big sister." Shibu apologized.

"Don't think too much about that, either." Cici replied. "We'll just chalk that one up to practice, and say that you have ninety-nine to go."

Shibu beamed, his smile and his eyes both brighter than the sun still trying to burn its way through the morning haze.

Shibu walked over a few steps more, and set himself in a classic profile pose for an Archer, at a distance of twenty paces from the target. This time, his bow stayed down, on his left side.

"Good boy, Shibu." Cici said as she walked a tight circle around him, checking his posture.

"How do your legs feel, little brother?" Cici asked sympathetically.

"They hurt some this morning, but mom's brushes helped a lot. My legs feel a little funny, but I want to be here, with you, for target practice." Shibu replied honestly.

"You'll have target practice every other day,. "On the other days, we'll be right here, working on your arms, legs and balance." Cici continued, as she nudged one of Shibu's wrists, changing its position ever so slightly.

"Do you want me to just hold my bow, or do I get to shoot once in a while?" Shibu asked with an odd half smile at Cici.

"Oh, you'll shoot, Little Brother. Until you can't see straight any longer." Cici replied. "Drawing your bow will build up your arms, shoulders and your chest." Cici went on.

"I didn't know they were that bad." Shibu reflected, sounding a bit downcast.

"You have a good start, Little brother. All the afternoons you spend helping Jacob the Blacksmith have done you good."

Shibu smiled. He liked the village farrier. One of Jacob's favorite moves was to snap worn out files in two with his bare hands before tossing them toward his forge, where they were re-born as knife blades while most of of the kids from the village watched, as if seeing magic for the first time.

"As time goes on Shibu, you'll be able to pick up Jacob's biggest anvil, as easily as you pick up your bow, I promise you that." Cici replied.

She paused, so that Shibu could absorb all the possibilities behind that image.

Then, Shibu smiled. "Let's practice!" He piped up brightly.

Cici smiled. That's just what she wanted to hear. "Anything you say, little brother."

Some time between moon rise, and midnight. Shibu finally gave in. His arms and fingers felt like lead as they finally fell to his sides. But his grip on his bow was still firm without being rigid, as Cici helped Shibu unwrap his fingers, and then massaging his arms lightly, preparing them for Felice and her brushes.  
Shibu managed to walk all the way back home. Even Cici was surprised at his stamina. As she glanced upward, toward the rising moon, Cici's keen eyes caught sight of the Sea Dragon rising.

“I know you're tired, Little Brother, but I have one more gift for you.” Cici spoke in a Ranger's whisper, so that her words sounded more like his own thoughts to Shibu.

“Archer, behold your bow, and seek the limitless stars.” Cici whispered to him as gently as she could.

Shibu's reaction was pure reflex, as he took hold of his bow, with both hands, holding it out across his chest as he looked up toward the moon.

“The night you took your first steps, the Sea Dragon gave us a new light of hope.” Cici told Shibu as she knelt at his side to hug him gently. “ You've been our best hope ever since, Shibu. Never forget that part of you is a Sea Dragon.”

“Sea Dragons help everyone.” Shibu recited with starlight in his blue eyes, and a trace of wonder in his whispered voice.

“That's right, Shibu.” Cici replied. 'They do. And you are the best Sea Dragon ever, Little Brother.”

“Cici?” Shibu asked, his voice bright even if his body was tired. “Do the Stars make us who we are?” The young archer asked.

“No, Shibu. What we are, and what we do, makes us who we choose to be. But the stars we follow remind us who we can be, if we dare to try.” Cici explained. “I want to give you the gifts in your stars. They are as important as any bow.”

Shibu slipped his bow across his shoulder, freeing his hands to hug Cici once more.

“Come on now, my handsome Sea Dragon.” Cici replied. “You've earned your best rest, and helped my best hopes. Let's head for home, warm food, and a good sleep.”

But before Shibu could take another step, he felt himself scooped up into Cici's arms. As her warm touch surrounded him, Shibu felt himself falling asleep, and he let himself relax.

Felice was indeed ready as Shibu stepped in through the door, and the touch of the healing brushed reduced the weight of his arms to less than a ton.  
Shibu was hungry, but because he couldn't eat with his feet and toes, he made a headlong run toward the feather bed, and the refuge of sleep.

As he did so, Felice looked at Cici with concern. “Five hundred shots.” Cici whispered. “He kept it up after the target fell apart. I've never seen anything like it. At the end, Shibu was more-” Cici paused, unwilling to finish for a moment.

“Go on. Dear. Say it. We both know the truth.” Felice told Cici gently.

“More like an animal, working on pure reflex and instinct.” Cici said at last, ever so quietly to Shibu's mother.

“I know, dear. I've seen that in him, too.”

“He's in danger, Felice.” Cici replied urgently. “If that power of his is turned the wrong way.' Cici said fearfully.

“That's why we're here, Sweetheart.” Felice responded as Shibu's whistling snore filled the bedroom. “We have to make sure Shibu learns the right way.”

“Have I helped, or hurt him, Felice?” Cici asked, with gloom in her voice.

“He loves you Cici, as much as he loves me. As long as the love is there, we will be alright.” Felice answered.

“And now, Shibu isn't the only one who could use the brush, and the bed.” Felice advised, sounding like the Village healer as well as a loved one.

“Right. I ran recovery for him the last two-hundred and fifty shots.' Cici confessed. “I try to build up his legs, and he ends up exercising mine.” Cici reflected with a admiring smile in Shibu's direction.

“That's our Shibu,” Felice replied. “Sharing the work, and sharing the love.”

“His skills will be so fine, Felice. After today, I wonder if he has any limits at all.”

“Isn't that as it should be, for a child, Sweetheart?” Felice asked gently as she began to sweep healing brush strokes down the full length of Cici's legs.

Cici practically melted, and Felice poured her into bed next to Shibu, before Felice put up her brushes, and dropped off to sleep beside the two of them.


	4. Change of Seasons

Shibu and family settled down to what became a life of training after he received his bow. Days and nights of exercise and practice filled the weeks and the rolling months. Before anyone could count the days, it was near the end of winter. Shibu marked his tenth birthday quietly, at home with Felice and Cici. 

Beyond the village green, the farmers as well as the artisans were waiting that first touch of spring air. It meant that the fertile soil was usually soft enough to till. For the village artisans it meant being able to venture into the forest close to the village and to the hills beyond to do everything from cut timber to mine iron from the rich vein that ran beneath the ridge near the village.

Felice found her time divided between being the village healer, and a full-time mother to Shibu. 

As spring swept away the last of winter, Shibu was anxious to get outside. More and more often, Shibu went with Felice to the edge of the forest to pick herbs, and gather the barks and grasses that were part of natural medicine.

The trio was so happy together that the passage of time seemed like no time at all. Shibu seemed to grow up before Felice or Cici noticed. 

Training seemed to transform Shibu as if by magic into a lean, long-limbed and endlessly energetic boy who was also broad shouldered and far quicker than he looked at first glance. Shibu's favorite pastime when not taking alchemy or archery lessons was out running the local deer, who came to the gentle lad by the dozens, and seemed to accept Shibu as one of their own.

But Shibu always worked harder than he played. Nothing short of being sick, and held down in bed by Felice, Cici, and Dylan together stopped the dark haired boy from helping the other workers and craftsmen around his village.

Shibu was now adept enough to carve and whittle safely, and he took to it happily when Cici told and showed him that carving was another skill prized by the Ranger. 

Both Felice and Cici marveled at the ease with which Shibu could almost glide from one task into another. But to whatever he was doing, Shibu brought a single-minded attention to perfection that won him the admiration of the laborers and craftsman he had known all of his life.

But there was also a part of Shibu that seemed to enjoy the exertion of physical labor. Felice was quick to see that it helped Shibu channel his boundless energy. Shibu enjoyed swinging picks with the Enutrofs as much as he relished helping Jacob the blacksmith work with heat and metal.

While most of the boys his age no longer lingered wide-eyed around the glowing orange fire of the forge, Shibu stayed, seeming to thrive on watching and learning, in spite of the heat, the noise, and the controlled danger of getting close to the orange beast who seemed to live in the familiar forge.

Shibu proved to be as game for iron working as he was for potion making and archery.

Most days, he was just there, like another useful anvil in the shop. At first, he had volunteered from among the younger boys in trying to lift the farrier's great hammer, and coming closer to success than some of the boys half again older than he was. 

One day, while forging some wrought iron for a gate, Jacob needed to change hammers, and handed the heavier of his tools to Shibu, who was usually between the anvil and the tool rack.  
The blacksmith called for a lighter hammer, absently making the exchange with Shibu by reflex, as the farrier's mind was on the piece of hot iron.

Jacob's opinion of Shibu was forced to change, as he looked back quickly, expecting to see Shibu pinned to the floor of the stable like a ladybug under his boot.  
Instead, Shibu had passed him the correct hammer, and the boy dutifully replaced the heavier hammer in the tool rack, using only one hand!

From then on, Shibu was more trusted around the anvil and forge.

There was something Shibu seemed to relish about stripping his shirt, laying on to pump the massive bellows and pitching in to shovel the coke and splitting the hardwood to stoke the forge. This helped to keep the flames burning hotter as Iron was beaten with carbon to become ingots of steel. Shibu also learned how to make charcoal from wood, something else in high demand around his village. At the end of a long day, between potions and archery training, Shibu would collect the charcoal into burlap bags, and help Jacob with his weekly deliveries around the village. Shibu became an admirable sight, shifting bags that were one half of his own weight from the bed of a wagon, then carrying them into the homes of his friends and neighbors, to spare them the strain.

Shibu wasn't only admired for his work ethic. He began to notice a few of the girls of the village watching him as he fetched and carried.

Between his labor and his archery training Shibu gained an impressive amount of strength, which impressed the blacksmith as Shibu seemed to grow into and up to the work.

Shibu also noticed and overheard some of the arguments that would flare up among the girls who brought Shibu an occasional cup of water. These Shibu accepted with a kind smile, although he could never quite figure out why the girls were staring, or what they might be staring at in the first place.

Shibu always suspected it was his hat. That stayed on, no matter how much he lifted or carried, or never got singed as he worked close to the forge.

Another marker of the passage of time was Shibu's need to have his unusual hat expanded and re-stitched once in a while. These intervals came about twice a year. Over several days, Shibu's personality changed from quiet and serious to downright sour and grumpy. The boy would disappear around the edge of the doorway in the bedroom. A few seconds later a familiar arm holding his unusual "long tailed" hat would appear in the doorway.

Even Felice knew better than to walk in to the bedroom while this unusual transfer was going on. Shibu absolutely insisted in the crankiest possible way that absolutely no one see him while he was not wearing his hat.

Once and only once before Shibu rapidly closed the bedroom door, Felice saw what she thought was a trick of the light playing in the reflection she could see from the mirrored glass of the bedroom window. She was able to glimpse it only for a moment before Shibu managed to close the door with a tap from one of his heels.

Felice would take the hat, along with a heavy sharp sewing needle and some scraps of the same fabric, and expand the hat as best her skills would allow, always stitching new threads into holes which matched as closely as she could manage. Felice noticed that the blue material was softer than felt, but was also as dense as fine quality light leather. It never seemed to wear, or fray around the needle holes Felice used.

Often she paused to look more closely at the long wide "tail" that formed most of the length of the unusual headgear. When Shibu was a baby, he had been able to disappear entirely beneath this wide strip of soft material which seemed to be stuffed with cotton, or some sort of wool. For all of her experience, even Cici wasn't able to identify the unique fibers that billowed out of a flat circular hole at the end of what looked like an unusual hooded stocking cap. Yet the bundles of fibers never seem to fall out, nor to fray or wear in any unusual way.

Felice had seen Shibu washing the hat first when he took a bath, and then later on as his balance improved, using the waterfall shower which Cici had built and piped into their shared house so Shibu could stay clean.

But for all the times both the Enripsa and the Cra had seen Shibu washing the hat, when they felt it brush by them as Shibu left the shower, the long hat felt light and airy, and the thick fibers on the end always tickled! They were soft, dry, and light without ever being sodden or heavy with dripping water.

But most of the Villagers didn't notice his hat so much once Shibu moved, and he was almost never still, except around his beloved books.

Shibu had caught on to what Cici called “The Ranger Run” simply by watching and imitating his older sister as she moved.

The “Ranger Run” was really a quick and very powerful sprinting walk. The difference was that it was done on the tips of the toes, and the balls of the feet. It was more like a moving dance step than the flat-footed run that was the best that most people could manage.   
Once Shibu discovered the finer and better balance he could call upon while up on his toes, there was no force of nature that could slow him down, beyond Felice and Cici, when it was time for lessons or meals.

Shibu was quicker by half again than anyone in the village. His speed and agility seemed to be a product of his boundless energy.

Shibu ran practically everywhere he went. The only time he slowed down to a soft, quiet step was when he crossed the threshold of someone's home. But the moment the boy stepped onto the grass he became both agile and limber. Cici could not help but notice with her hunter’s sight how well-balanced and fluid his movements were as Shibu raced around the village green, beating all the other boys in the village, even the ones twice his age by more than a lap whenever he was challenged to a foot race.

That spring, Cici had made Shibu another unique gift. A pair of custom carved wooden sandals. She had begun with a common set of geta, the square shaped wooden sandals secured with short pieces of rope. But Cici had modified the wood, tracing around each of Shibu's feet with charcoal, outlining that wood before she carved a one piece flat sole to match specifically to his feet and toes. She had also replaced the rough, chafing rope with the unique leather toe cap, re-enforced by another pair of leather straps which wound around Shibu's ankle before fastening firmly into a small brass buckle on the other strap. The unique shoes fit Shibu as if they were painted on, and the extra strength Shibu gained in his calves and ankles from his version of “The Ranger Run” meant that the shoes weighed no more than Shibu's bare feet!  
From the moment that Shibu first slipped them on, it was as if someone had given him one mission in life.

Run!

The boy both Felice and Cici knew was quiet and serious when it came to helping, or with his other favorite pastime, reading.  
But by giving Shibu his unique shoes, Cici felt she had unlocked something deeper in the boy’s personality.

Now he had a way to answer the physical challenges that were part of a boy’s life growing up. Shibu had something to do now, after he put down the last of his books for the day.

And not even the oldest boys in the village were prepared for the force of nature Cici's gift set loose.

First, there were old-fashioned foot races, with even the taller, stronger boys left huffing and puffing in Shibu's quick wake. Cici had to smile as she looked on. Shibu's version of the “Ranger Run” gave him an advantage of balance and speed, but when mixed with the extra strength and stamina of Shibu's longer legs, it turned into a running stride whose compact motion allowed the younger boy to seem to fly over the ground as he ran, up on his toes. At the end of the first day, Shibu was the unchallenged champion at any form of running.

The very next day, some of the oldest boys in the village decided to exact some good-natured revenge. Running was no longer good enough for anybody. It was spring.

Time for Boufball!

At first when he looked at it, Shibu could not help but double over laughing. It was as if someone had taken one of the young lambs from the village and tied it up into a near perfectly round shape. The unique woolly ball looked exactly like a small round sheep. The two pairs of crossed stitches which held the ball together took on the appearance of eyes, and another set just below it seemed to become an odd sort of mouth. It was so cute and fluffy looking that when the older boys gave Shibu a chance to kick it, Shibu had to force himself to stop laughing and concentrate.

First they set the ball down in front of him on a bare spot in the grass. Shibu had to bite his tongue a little bit to steady himself, and prepare for the kick. Rather than take a running start at the ball, Shibu simply shifted his weight and swung his leg with all the energy he could muster. The toe cap of his shoe met the ball with a whooshing sound of moving air, and then a solid smack.

The ball arched through the air with a strong sweeping current of air in front of it. It sailed across the village green, up over the fence that protected the village garden, and clear out of sight, to a spot so far away near the edge of the forest that it was nearly lost from sight!

The older boys who made up the village team stood around Shibu with their mouths hanging open. Everyone was looking at him with wide eyes full of surprise.

At first, Shibu sort of shriveled a little bit. "Did I do all right?" He asked his best friend Dylan, who was also leader of the team.

Dylan looked far off after the ball, before looking back at Shibu. Dylan had a huge and slightly silly smile on his face.

"You did just fine, Shibu. As soon as we can get you a uniform, you're going to play with us from now on. Do you know what a "striker" is by any chance?"

Shibu thought about it for a few seconds, and then it came to him. "He gets to kick, right?"

Dylan smiled even wider than before. "Yes, good buddy, he gets to kick. And so do you." Dylan replied still delirious with happiness. "After lunch, we'll set you up a practice goal, and you'll get to kick as much as you like! How does that sound?" Dylan asked, still stammering slightly as he spoke.

"Cool!" Shibu interjected.

It took both Felice and Cici to pick up Shibu, and make him come into supper, well after the sun had set and the moon had risen. Shibu had found his calling.

Shibu was still talking about it almost two hours later, as he prepared for bed, enthusiastic to rest for another day of kicking tomorrow.

“Well, perhaps not all day.” Cici said with just a hint of surprise in her voice. “After all, I can’t give archery lessons to no one at all. I’m going to need your help.”  
Shibu practically leapt out of bed and caught the redheaded Cra Ranger square around the waist in a strangle hug!

“Super!” Shibu interjected. “But I still have to help Mom gather some herbs right after breakfast. Will that be okay?” Shibu wanted to know, sounding urgent, because he didn’t want to disappoint Felice, even though Felice was standing nearby, and smiling just like Dylan had after Shibu's first kick.

‘Go, on, Shibu, get some sleep.” Cici said while trying to gently pry Shibu off of her waist and plop him in bed. “No good shooting with sleepy eyes. Or kicking either.” Cici reminded him.

Shibu understood and burrowed beneath the soft quilt, already falling asleep.

Before Cici could walk out of the room, Shibu was sound asleep.  
Cici bent down, and kissed Shibu as she always did, just on the tip of his nose.

“Sleep well, Little brother. You’ve had a big day, and we’ll have more fun tomorrow.”

Cici blew out the big white candle on the nightstand next to the bed, and crept out of the room on a Ranger’s silent feet.


	5. Birds Must Fly

The next morning, word of Shibu's near legendary kick had spread to every Boufball player in the village. Even a few of the traveling merchants who had stopped off overnight in the village heard the repeated tale the boy with the super kick.

But Shibu's attention the next morning was no longer focused on playing ball.

He and Cici had gotten up with the sun that morning, and crept away toward a small glade on the edge of the village. The spot was perfect for practice, mostly because it remained unknown to the villagers themselves.

One of the gifts given to the young boy at his edge of spring birthday celebration had been given in private.

Cici had watched along with Felice as Shibu had grown into a fine and sturdy boyhood. But together, the two adults waited to see something beyond age in Shibu. Their waiting had been rewarded in ways that matched Cici's best hopes.

The Cra Ranger had seen more deeply into Shibu’s character.

Shibu was quiet, introspective and studious. Some of his peers in the village were much less so, and had tried to bring the wild side out of the young boy. But Shibu had remained steadfastly true to his own nature. He was always ready to help anyone who needed it. This was the first and most important, common lesson for both healer and Ranger.

Shibu could be contented for hours on end reading any one of the venerable old books which lined his adoptive home. And because he enjoyed himself while doing it, had he also absorbed a good many of the old books not only into his head, but into his heart as well.  
The boy with the blue hat had a naturally gentle and helpful disposition. He was also inclined toward surprisingly deep thought at times.

Not long after that, while the winter snows were still melting, the first of the birds nests in and around the village welcomed their first young peeps.

Shibu was nothing less then captivated by the natural magic present in the continuation of life. There was a stand of huge, ancient trees on the edge of the village green. The elders told the young lad that the trees had been there before the village, so the elders and the people had left them alone.

By springtime, they were practically sagging under the weight of all the new nests in their ancient branches. Shibu would go out almost the first thing every morning after sunrise to hear the birds serenading the coming of the new day.

On one such daily ritual, Shibu had seen something that brought him racing back in the house, shouting cries of alarm that wakened Cici at once.

"Cici!" The boy said with a raised voice as he came around the corner and stood at the edge of their shared bedroom, where the two girls still enjoyed a restful slumber.

Cici was up and out of the bed by reflex. Her second reflex had been to grab her bow and quiver, and come running.

"What's wrong Shibu?" Cici wanted to know, trying to push her own voice down into a soft whisper, as Felice was sleeping nearby. "Are we under attack?"

"No, big sister." Shibu replied as sheepishly as a Gobball.

"One of the birds... It fell out of the tree!" Shibu explained with real urgency both in his eyes and in his voice.

Cici almost dropped her bow as she nearly fainted back into being asleep on her feet.

"Shibu!" Cici said, suddenly sounding quite sleepy again. "You woke me up for something like that?" The Ranger wanted to know.

"But we have to help it!" Shibu replied urgently. "If we don't, the poor thing might--" Shibu's voice dropped away as his head sunk down toward his chest. The thought that crossed his mind was too terrible to finish for the young boy.

Through her traces of slight sleepy annoyance, Cici felt a sudden pang of sympathy for Shibu. Cici had been brought up as a Ranger. The ways of nature were as familiar to her as the sight of her own face. But sometimes, some of those lessons could be very hard indeed.

Her little brother had a gentle heart, and he hadn't seen enough of life yet to understand the brutally simple ways in which nature sometimes worked.  
Then she remembered her own experiences as a little girl, and Cici's heart melted for her gentle little brother.

"Oh Shibu." Cici said once more, this time with more understanding. "Since I was almost awake anyway, why don't we go see what we can do?"

Shibu seem to brighten up like the sunrise that had come only a few minutes before. He was suddenly filled with energy and urgency once again. He grabbed Cici's outstretched hand, and the redheaded Ranger swung her little brother up onto her shoulders, as Shibu enjoyed his usual fit of giggles. They walked out of the door together and quickly across the village green, Ranger walking toward where Shibu pointed to a spot near one of the oldest trees in the village.

"He's right down there!" Shibu interjected. "Do you see him? There! On the ground near the roots." Shibu informed Cici urgently.

Cici took a moment to stand still, and look at the sight with a Ranger's trained eye. Sure enough, almost lost in the massive roots of the tree, there was a small shrinking ball of purple feathers and yellow beak. Cici gave Shibu credit. Only someone with the sharpest of eyes, and the most caring of hearts would've seen the fallen baby bird at all.

"Yes Shibu, I see him." She replied. "Let's see what we can do."

Cici's training had taught her the same rough lesson as a young Ranger which she was trying so hard to keep from Shibu's tender heart right now. The baby bird was too small, and had been pushed from the nest in the branches high above by its stronger siblings.  
This was how nature worked. The strong survive. But it could be a cruel and heartless lesson in the worst of moments.

Cici picked up the practically lifeless bird in one gloved hand. The warmth of her touch seem to restore some of the life which was quickly ebbing away.

Shibu's face and his bright blue eyes seemed to flash with traces of renewed hope.

"We have to put him back." Shibu said with the direct simplicity of anything more easily said than done.

Cici had to fight to keep an optimistic expression for Shibu’s sake.

The tree in question would need six villagers with linked arms to form a circle around it. The oldest tree in the village was also one of the tallest, and the massive limb on which the lowest bird nest sat was almost lost in the leaves higher up than most people could see.

But there was simple, goodhearted Shibu, with all the faith in the world in his big sister and her ability to do what the young boy knew in his heart was the right thing to do.

Now it was Cici's turn to face one of the hard truths of both herself and life on the edge of the forest.

"Shibu.. ", Cici replied slowly. "I'm sorry, my sweet little brother, but not even I can climb this tree. It's too big, and too tall, and there are scarcely any places to grab onto before the bottom branch where the nest is." Cici replied, genuinely sorry and hurt that she had somehow let Shibu down.

The young boy craned his neck, looking up, up, and up some more, toward where Cici had looked a moment before.

Shibu had to admit to himself that it was the tallest place he had ever seen. And in the same moment, he also understood somehow that if Cici climbed up there, she might fall and hurt herself. 

This thought mixed quickly with the inevitable thought of what was waiting for the baby bird, and Shibu started to cry.  
Cici held him close to her shoulder for a moment, trying to ease the pain of having to learn one of life's painful lessons.

"It's okay Shibu, it's okay." Cici whispered to him gently as she shed a tear along with the little brother that she loved.

"You're so brave, and so sweet for wanting to help everyone. Even the smallest ones with so little hope." Cici told him as Shibu looked up from her shoulder. She gently wiped away the tears that stained his face with a finger of one of her soft leather gloves.

"Come on little brother. Let's take him inside and take care of him while we can." Cici suggested to Shibu. But all of a sudden, Shibu brightened, and there was a new sort of light in his vivid blue eyes.

"Hey! I know!" Shibu interjected. "You can't go up there, but I'm smaller. Maybe I can, if--"

"Shibu! Oh no, little brother! It's far too dangerous." Cici replied using the tone that Shibu understood meant something decided and final.

"No no!" Shibu replied in an urgent tone. "You don't understand." 

Shibu very rarely argued or talked back to anyone he knew. But there was something in his voice this time that intrigued Cici.

"What do you mean, little brother? You're not climbing that tree, you'd fall for sure.”

"I don't want to climb. I need some steps." Shibu explained quickly. "You have your bow. Use the arrows, make them like steps, going up." Shibu said, making it sound as simple and common as daylight.

"But you can't walk on arrows, Shibu." Cici protested.

"Not walk, but I can swing." Shibu replied quickly.

Cici was taken aback. The idea was absolutely brilliant. Shibu had spent endless days across the springs and summers past doing exactly the same swing from branch to branch in the forest trees as he helped Felice gather leaves, and buds from new branches to be used in medicines. It was something that came as naturally to him as walking on the green grass far below.

For a moment, even Cici was won over to the unorthodox idea. But then the Ranger in her reasserted itself firmly. There was still danger, and a lot of it, in what Shibu proposed to do.

"But it so high up, you still might fall." Cici replied firmly, now sounding quite unwilling all of a sudden to take the risk, especially with someone she loved.

"I've been up every tree around here." Shibu protested. "Now I have to go up this one--Please." Shibu implored.

Cici looked down at the baby bird, still alive somehow in the warmth of her hand. Then she looked into Shibu's blue eyes. Cici swallowed once, hard.

"Okay, little brother. Let's try. But if I say you come down, you come down, understand?"

"Yep-Yep!" Shibu replied enthusiastically.

Still fighting her own better judgment, Cici stood up, and knocked an arrow into her bow. Getting to the right spot around the circumference of the tree proved to be the next problem. Her first steps were back and away from the tree before she started a slow circle around it. She fixed her eyes on the branch where the birds nest was sitting.  
Cici whispered silent hope that the forest spirits would forgive her doing harm to the ancient and majestic tree.

Then her bow was up, and she was firing. Not at the base of the tree, where no one could possibly miss, but just below the branch itself where the nest was, working down toward the ground and angling her arrows so that each was lower than last by just a bit on a steady descending serpentine curve that wound its way down to the base of the tree.

It took almost her full quiver of two dozen to place each one exactly where she wanted it.

Almost as soon as the last arrow at the lowest point had sped from her bow, Shibu held out his cupped hands toward Cici.

Her walk around the great tree trunk, had brought Cici back almost exactly to a soft tuffet of grass where she had laid the delicate baby bird. Cici scooped the tiny feathered ball into Shibu's hands.  
This presented a momentary problem, as Shibu would need both of his hands free in order to reach the tree branch that the baby bird called home.

Shibu thought for a moment, and then stripped off the soft linen pullover shirt he wore. It was one of many that some of the ladies of the village had made for him as he had grown up. This shirt in particular had long sleeves, which would solve Shibu's problem.

Laying the shirt down, he slid the baby bird into the shirt pocket on the right side of the upper chest. He quickly folded the remainder of the shirt into a loose bundle secured in part by the two sleeves. The bundle trailing the sleeves was small enough, and the sleeves long enough so that they met at the back of Shibu's neck, where the boy buttoned them together at the cuffs, securing the whole bundle around his neck so it fell just below his chin.

Now both his hands, feet, and legs could be free to move without worrying about anything spilling from the pockets of his trousers or from anywhere else.

"Ready, big sister!" Shibu said with confidence as he broke for the tree with an easy trot.

There was a small notch carved near the base of the great tree. Long ago it held the initials of a pair of long forgotten lovers. Now, the notch carved in the great tree was all Shibu needed to get a toehold, that let him brace and make a fine balanced hop step and jump up and out, so he easily caught hold of the first of the arrows set deeply into the tree.

From then on, it was the same continuous motion. Tuck, a short jump and a rolling catch that led Shibu further upward each time.

While Shibu made each of the motions seem almost ridiculously easy, Cici found herself watching Shibu climb with increasing concern. She had made certain that these had been her best cloth-yard shafts and arrowheads. Each arrow was now very nearly permanently set into the trunk of the great tree. And each of the shafts seemed to support Shibu without sign of a strain, as the sprightly young boy wound himself up each time and swept upward to the next double handhold.

Almost before Cici could take it in, Shibu was halfway up the great tree trunk. To her hunters sight, Shibu's motion was more like the familiar squirrels who lived in all the great trees of the forest. Almost before she could draw a second surprised breath, Shibu was reaching not for another arrow shaft, but for the branch itself on which the baby birds nest sat!

Shibu made one last easy leap, his actions smooth and without any sign of worry or distress at his now considerable height!

Walking along the tree limb more than twice as wide as both of his feet was a simple and easy trick for the limber young boy. It took only a moment to unbutton the shirt cuffs behind his neck, and slowly lower the woven bundle that carried the baby bird down into the nest. The nest itself contained two other somewhat larger birds, both a dark shade of purple, with the yellow beaks, and large eyes common to Piwis.

Shibu quickly pulled the shirt up and out of the way, leaving the baby bird untouched as he slipped back into the nest.

For the moment, he could not put the shirt back on without risking his balance on the tree limb. So he simply re-buttoned together the shirt cuffs and slid the loop of fabric around his neck. It wasn't quite as good as wearing the shirt, but at least it was out of the way for the climb down.

Shibu waved good-naturedly to Cici far below, whose eyes were riveted on the tree limb itself. Shibu smiled as he saw his big sister salute with two fingers, in typical Ranger sign. Then she brought her hand down slowly toward the ground, until it touched the soft grass again.

Shibu understood what this meant. Cici had taught him Ranger sign since he could remember, and the two of them could have long conversations between them in the sign language without Felice hearing a single word. His big sisters sign was definite.

Come down, right away.

Shibu turned and stepped lively back toward the tree limb, to the point where it met the trunk of the tree. Cici's first arrow now became his first step down, where before it had been his last step up.

Reversing the hop-step spring that had taken him up the tree was smooth and natural for Shibu. He had indeed climbed most of the trees within sight of the village. He had also climbed down all of them.

Below him on the village green, Cici kept a nervous count as Shibu came down. Just as he was ready to make the gliding jump and grab that would put him halfway down the great tree, there was suddenly a gust in the rising morning breeze!

Cici could sense it almost before it happened, but by the time she could call out a warning to Shibu, the sound of a voice from below was lost on the wind.

The wind seem to ripple across the tree and through the branches. Flowing through the great tree, it gave Shibu a gentle push at exactly the wrong time, and suddenly he was falling!

Instinctively, Shibu seemed to spread himself out on the gust of wind, hoping to slow his fall. He could see the ground rushing up to meet him. He threw out his arms in front of him hoping to soften the impact.

But in the next moment, there was no hard impact, even with the soft ground.

There was only a gentle circle of blue light. Light as blue as his own eyes. He seemed to fall into and through the circle, and he lost all sense of motion.

On the village green below, and instant after cold fingers of sheer terror squeezed Cici's heart, she also saw the blue flash of light. And she also saw her little brother disappear from sight completely in the same instant, vanishing into the center of a circle of blue light which seem to float in midair!

Instantly, Cici was too shocked to breathe, or to call for help. All she could do was sink to her knees, as her legs gave out beneath her.

A moment later, he seemed to be moving again. Not falling, but moving more slowly than before. And then, just below his feet, there was another soft circle of blue light. Looking through the center of this one, Shibu could see the soft green grass at the base of the tree.

Almost before he could think, He seemed to drop through this second circle of blue light, and land with a thud on the soft grass.

Something made Cici get up and run toward him, toward the second Circle of blue light which hovered just above the ground, and through which Shibu had reappeared a moment before falling a short distance onto the grass.

Her bow was back over her shoulder with her quiver, in a move of pure reflex that left her hands free to scoop up Shibu from where he had fallen.

"Shibu! Shibu! Answer me, talk to me, please, Shibu!" Cici implored as she swept the crumpled figure of her little brother up into her arms and held him close.

Just then, there was a soft whisper that only Cici could hear.

"Lemmie go, Sis! I can't breathe!"

"Shibu!" Cici gasped, as she found herself barely able to breathe all of a sudden. "Are you all right? What happened, those lights, what were they?"

"I dunno, Sis. I’m just kinda tired right now, and my stomach h-hurts. May-be we ought to go home now." Shibu told his big sister with a sigh just before he went completely limp in her arms!

Cici turned quickly, and running as only a woodland Ranger could run, she raced back toward the house, calling for Felice at the top of her voice.

Felice awoke when she felt herself alone in bed. She decided that the most useful thing she could do for the moment was to cook breakfast for the three of them. When she heard Cici's unaccustomed shout of alarm, she literally dropped the eggs into the skillet.  
Felice flew around the corner in a blur, and met Cici in the doorway, her arms full of a decidedly worse for the wear Shibu.

"Stars and planets Cici!" Felice interjected. "What's going on? Why is he like this?" The Enripsa wanted to know urgently.

"Our goodhearted little brother was helping a baby bird get home, and he ran out of tree before he ran out of gravity." Cici explained quickly, being sure to leave out selected details for now, as they might require too much explanation.

"Starry skies!" Felice said, in surprise, but not quite in shock." I'll get my brushes. Put him down on the sofa, where it will be easy to reach him."

Cici set her little brother down as softly as another ball of feathers. She let go of Shibu's hand long enough to sit on the sofa at his feet. She took a moment, and put her face into her palms. The shock of what almost happened had begun to set in. But that brought Cici back to the other thing that she had not mentioned to Felice.

Those strange blue circles.

Whatever they were, they had saved Shibu's life, or at the very least spared him serious injury and pain.

But the Cra Ranger had never seen or imagined anything like them before.

Shibu had managed not only to defy gravity, but to use it somehow to slow himself down as he was falling.

Whatever skill or magic this happened to be made little difference for the moment. But when her little brother was both well, and conscious again, Cici decided that the two of them would walk a short distance into the forest and have a very, very long talk.

Felice floated back into the room carrying something which looked like a small toolbox used by one of the village artisans. But rather than tools, the wooden tray with a long handle on it was filled to overflowing with a large selection of magical brushes.

Cici understood that for the Enripsa, these were tools as surely as hammer and nails were to many of the craftsman around the village.

"Here Cici." Felice said shortly. "Hold these for me, while I see which one of them will do the best work." Felice continued.

"As I caught him, Shibu said he was tired, and that his stomach hurt." Cici added, trying her best to describe the symptoms to the doctor.

"That's not much to go on." Felice answered slowly. "But from what I see and sense, there are no broken bones or fractures. A few scrapes and bruises is all I see." Felice diagnosed quickly.

"Thank Cra for that!" Cici said with relief. "Shibu is lucky to be well built,with a good deal of strength. When he fainted in my arms, I was surprised. It's the first time in his life that I've ever seen him so completely still. I got scared." Cici confessed quietly to Felice.

Felice was listening, but she was also working. She picked up a small brush at first, and it immediately shimmered with the magic of natural energy that flowed through it when healing was done. She passed it gently over his slightly barked knees and elbows, also being sure to touch all the major joints above and below Shibu's hips, to make sure everything that she could not see was healed as well as everything she could see.

"There now!" Felice said calmly as she put the brush back among the others in her toolkit. "As far as I can tell, he's had a good scare, pulled a few muscles, and the tree bark skinned him up pretty badly. For now, all he'll need is a lot of rest, and no strenuous activity for a few days."

Cici knew the tone Felice was using. As the healer for her village, Felice had lasting respect among all citizens. When she told them to do something associated with medicine or healing, the villagers were smart enough to listen and heed what she had to say.

"If that's the case, I'd better start weaving some trapper's rope, because you'll need a hold spell to keep this boy in bed for anything longer than one night." Cici's tone carried the relieved sensation that came with the medical diagnosis.

But both of them knew Shibu all too well. Felice understood that in spite of the humor of the moment, Cici was as right in her assessment as Felice had been with the medical diagnosis.

"He won't feel a lot of the pain from his wounds." Felice replied. "I made certain of that. But I do have a feeling that when he wakes up, he may listen to his body, if he won't listen to us." Felice replied.

"I hope so." Cici replied with relief. "It may sound strange, but I never loved Shibu more than in that moment where I thought he might be-"

Cici paused, and let her voice trail off. The thought itself, along with the fresh memory of the fear was a wound that not even Felice could treat.

"I know my dear." Felice replied. "Moments like that are made more intense by the deep love that we share for one another. I'm glad you love Shibu deeply enough to be so scared. But don't worry, everything will soon be right." Felice consoled as the two of them sat down on the sofa at Shibu's feet to watch over their little brother, who was now resting easily in the deep sleep of healing.

Cici considered Felice's counsel. There was a fine clear truth at the core of them, but what Cici couldn't bring herself to tell Felice was the entire truth of what had happened.

So even as her own fear from the moment of Shibu's fall faded further away into time, Cici knew as no one else did that Shibu's problems might require far more than love and a magic brush to solve.

But whatever that meant for Shibu, Felice was resolved, as she was his big sister, to stand by her little brother no matter what would happen in the future.

A wave of subdued happiness washed over both Cici and Felice the next night, as Shibu's intense blue eyes fluttered open, and he whispered their names. Shibu's first impulse was to sit up and move around a bit. He began to move, but a strange look crossed his face, along with an impulse of pain from his stomach muscles which made the naturally impulsive boy slow down more than a little.

Cici grabbed a pair of the plump comfortable cushions that were accessories to the sofa, and propped Shibu up a bit against one arm of the long seat where he had slept soundly for most of a day.

"Take it easy Shibu." Came Cici's gentle whisper to her little brother. "It's still going to hurt for a while, and after that scare you gave me, I'm not at all sure you don't deserve it." Cici told him half playfully.

"Ugh!" Was all Shibu could manage to say as stiff muscles made it feel like he had an iron chain manacled around his stomach.

"I'm really sorry, Sis." Shibu replied with a sad tone in his whisper. "But I was falling, and I didn't know what to do, and then--"

"Shhhhh!" Cici interjected suddenly, cutting him off.

"That part of things is between just you and me." Cici answered somewhat sharply. "And when you're feeling better, my little tree climber, you and I are going to have a very long talk. But for now, it can wait until you're well. I didn't want to worry Felice about it. You rest, and that means stay still for now, and you and I will talk later on. In private."

Shibu understood, and looked off in the direction of Felice who was totally absorbed in preparing lunch for the three of them, with an extra big portion for her healing patient.

"Okay big sister. I've got a lot to think about, I guess." Shibu replied with a faint touch of regret in his voice.

"It wasn't your fault Shibu." Cici replied. "But we've got to know more about what happened after you fell, and before you made me make an unscheduled catch landing." Felice whispered in return. "For now, you be extra good for Felice and keep still. I know it's hard for you, but you're going to have to heal, and that's going to take time, medicine, and lots of good food." Cici told him as she rested a gloved fingertip on Shibu's button nose. The smile that came with a gesture lit up Shibu's intense blue eyes with a wave of happiness. "I think Felice has that part well in hand."

"Okay, big sister." Shibu replied. "I'll be good, I promise."

"That's my little brother!" Cici responded with a brighter smile still.

"Cici?" Shibu asked again, returning to his quiet voice. "Can you bring me something to read?" Shibu asked.

"Now I know you're feeling better!" Cici answered. "Tell me which one, and I'll bring you any book in the village. I promise."


	6. Star Steel

Shibu had been a remarkably good patient through the first two weeks of his enforced holiday. The cycle of long rest, good food, and time had given Shibu a chance to do the two things he needed to do most.  
Rest and heal.

But both Felice and Cici already knew that there was part of Shibu that would not be held down, even if his body had been strapped to the comfortable and fluffy couch in the living room.

Recuperation also allowed Shibu to catch up on his studies. Over the days of enforced rest, the young boy had only one really productive activity. Felice allowed him free run of her nearly endless supplies of herbs and natural ingredients.

With the days of practice to keep himself busy, Shibu had graduated to more complex potions, far beyond the almost reflexive skill required to concoct simple healing potions. The simple elixirs were the stock in trade of the healer. Selling the potions for a fee only slightly greater than the cost of the glass bottle, and the cork made Felice and family enough money to survive and prosper in a village where they had already cultivated years of respect. Felice doubled as the village doctor, healing anyone who came to her with everything from the normal childhood cuts and scrapes to the effects of varying degrees of illness.

Felice kept not only the village itself healthy, but the entire Township and precinct around it. It was not uncommon for Shibu to see patients arrive from Bonta to Brakmar, and sometimes even as far away as Pandala. Felice always gave first, and thought about her own costs long after. Many who came to her had barely enough money to return to their own lands once they were healed. Many dozens of others had no money, nor any form of wealth at all beyond what they could grow, mill, or make. Felice cheerfully accepted any sort of reasonable donation, passing along things that she could not use to her fellow craftsmen, and other villagers in need.

Shibu grew particularly excited and interested when he knew a potion which he had made had helped cure someone, or at least made them feel better, at least for a time. He would sit with each visitor for anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Interacting, and talking with the young boy gave most of the patients a chance to escape their illness for at least a short while. In return, Shibu learned everything from the geography of Pandala to the foreboding reaches of the frosty kingdom of Frigost, which was closer to the polar cap then it was to any other spot in the World of the Twelve.

But midway through his fourth week of captivity, both Felice and Cici noticed a change in Shibu's usually bright demeanor. He grew moody, and stopped talking, along with spending most of his day doing nothing beside sleep.

Felice and Cici had seen enough of medicine of different types to understand and diagnose what was troubling their younger brother. Shibu had made no secret of wanting to go out and play, especially when the spring weather came into its full bloom, and groups of his friends would stop by his house to see if he was well, or at least willing to try and play Boufball again.

On one particularly beautiful green spring day, Cici could sense the wave of resentment radiating from her captive little brother.

Just as Shibu had done at the beginning of the season with the baby bird, Cici decided there and then that now was the time to liberate Shibu.

She walked over to the comfy couch which had become a sort of plush cage for the young boy. Cici flounced down onto one of the thick cushions right beside Shibu. Without giving her little brother any hope of escape, Cici grabbed him, hugged him close, and kissed him in her familiar way on his nose.

"Know what little brother?"

"Yeah I know. Girls like to slobber a lot." Said Shibu, as he wiped his nose absently with the corner of the blanket which now covered the couch.

"Nope. That's not what I mean. I think I've come up with a new medicine for you." Cici told him directly.

She almost giggled right out loud, nearly giving the whole thing away, as Shibu's face took on a somewhat twisted and puckered expression. Shibu knew as well as Felice that while Cici had many talents, alchemy was not first among them. Whenever Cici made the healing potion that Shibu took with every meal, and before bedtime, Cici's creation was an awful sour mash of ingredients, rather than the sweet and slightly floral taste intended for healing potion.

"Come on, it's not all that bad. This time you don't have to drink anything." Cici said to him in a gentle, consoling way as his puckered expression faded slowly away. "This one you'll like, because it's medicine I think you've needed for a while now. It's called fresh air mixed with a whole bunch of spring sunshine."

Putting together what Cici was trying to say took Shibu less than a single happy breath. He leapt up from the couch, hugged Cici close, once again displaying the admirable strength her little brother possessed. "Thank you, big sister!" Shibu said with a happy giggle that sounded like sweet music to Cici.

"You can go out, and play. But if you start feeling sick, or get too tired, you come right back here for rest and maybe a little snack, okay?" Cici told him firmly but gently.

This suited Shibu from the tail on his hat, to the soles of the shoes that Cici made for him. He had not put them on in almost a whole month, but feeling their weight again seem to fill Shibu with his usual overflowing amount of ferocious energy.

As happy as Shibu was to dash out to the middle of the village green, and start forming up teams for Boufball, it was both Felice and Cici who were just exactly as happy as Shibu, for the boy's own sake.

"Now, I can start the laundry, and the cooking. You take the first shift of watching over Shibu. I'll relieve you just before supper time." Cici told Felice with a trace of Shibu's happiness in her own voice.  
Felice smiled warmly. "Thank you so much, Dear Heart!" Felice replied. Cici knew it had been a long month for Felice too. Seeing her boy being himself again was as much medicine for Felice as it was tonic and elixir for Shibu.

With Cici out from under foot as well, Felice was free to work her own sort of magic in the kitchen, which made her one of the best cooks in the village.

Shibu seemed to blow out of the house on a gust of hurricane wind, out onto the green grass, and into the midst of his friends game. That game ended quickly, as both teams gathered around Shibu to re-form and hopefully get the best kicker in the village on their own team.

The warm sunshine and the soft breeze which kept the heat away seemed to fill Shibu with another level of energy altogether. Quickly enough, the impromptu game became a lively lesson in ball control without using the hands. Shibu could almost stand on the ball itself and dance a lively jig while the ball continued to roll this way and that. He went up holding himself up by one arm with the sheep style ball under his hand.

"Okay guys!" Shibu shouted. "I say that I can stay like this for an entire week. Who wants to try to take the ball out from under me?"

As Shibu spoke up, he held his single arm push-up, and actually turned along with the ball beneath him slowly so he could look at his teammates as he spoke.

Watching from a safe distance not all that far away, Cici was worried for a moment. But her little brother's display of both balance and strength meant that Shibu was indeed feeling much better than the poor frazzled boy who had fallen from the tree a month earlier. Cici decided not to intervene, but rather to sit back and watch the fun from a distance.

One by one, his teammates large and small came at him, intent on knocking him off of the ball, or taking the ball that Shibu now kept alternately beneath both hands, or beneath both feet, as the young kicker made quick work of dodging every boy in the village who wanted to try, while keeping easy and fluid control over the ball, which now seemed to be a part of him.

The other boys regrouped, and came at him in sets of two, three, and even four at a time. Shibu seemed to dance a ballet on top of the ball, bending, twisting, dodging and turning so as to avoid being so much as touched, let alone the ball itself, which was always beneath both of his hands, or both of his feet as Shibu moved from side to side in a simple but fluid display of movement and dodging that allowed Shibu to show off skills dormant for almost too long for Shibu.

It was as if Shibu had never missed a team practice, and could score as many goals as he liked, anytime he wanted, even against his own team.

Very soon, the members of that team lay strewn across the field, flat out exhausted and panting on the soft grass.

One of the boys signaled the teams surrender by changing the subject to something more exciting.

"Come on Shibu!" Dylan called out between heavy breaths. "Let's see you kick!"

Shibu, who was standing on the ball, which was rotating beneath his feet hopped off the ball with a giggle, popping it up with a tap of his toe, so he could spin it on one finger while he looked around in the soft grass for the best place to spot his kick. He quickly spotted a place in the grass not far away that would give him a good running start at a smashing kick.

Shibu set the ball down, and whistling with confidence he walked back five long steps, determined to get a good run in to the ball for his first kick in practice in a very long month.

Watching intently from the porch not far away, Cici saw Shibu set himself more like a runner than a kicker, and then he was still for just a moment before he moved. 

When he moved, it was all Cici could do even with Ranger sight to keep track of Shibu, who was tearing along the grass at full speed after just two steps. Shibu was also growling at the top of his lungs as his toe met the ball in the absolutely perfect spot that had been his target.

In Cici's view, the ball simply ceased to exist. But she did hear a loud almost explosive sound, and feel a wind gust rise over the village green that seemed to be made of a small tornado! There was a brief clipping sound among the shorter branches of the tallest tree around the green, and then Cici caught sight of a nearly round hole blasted into the overhead canopy of leaves. The ball, quite simply, was gone, and for good.

"Yeah, Shibu! You showed them! Score one for Shibu!" Cici cheered from her now slightly less shady spectator seat on the porch.

Shibu decided playfully to ham it up just a bit. Standing alone in the middle of the field, now quite without the ball, Shibu made a point of slowly bowing to all four directions. As he did so the long tail of his hat flopped out over his head, and down in front of his eyes!

Cici laughed so hard that she nearly fell off the barrel that had become her impromptu seat!

"Sorry boys, but game called on account of lunch." Cici called out in the style of a referee. "Come on in Shibu, even superstars need to eat!"

Far from being angry, the other boys on the team got up from the grass where most of them still lay sprawled out from trying to catch Shibu. The rest of the team picked up their kicking sensation, and carried him triumphantly across the grass from the village green, to his front door, not far away. Then they set him down, making a point to brush away any stray blade of grass that still clung to his uniform. They patted him softly on the back, and were even more gentle about messing up his unique long tailed hat, which was surprisingly soft and warm to the touch.

"Go on and eat, Shibu." Dylan told his friend. "We're going to need you in top shape if we are going to play for the spring championship in Bonta this season."

"Okay Captain!” Shibu responded brightly. And with that he turned, to allow Cici to escort him into the house for food and rest.  
After a moment, as Shibu ran off toward lunch, Cici's head appeared again in the window facing the porch.

"Thanks a lot guys." Cici said to the remaining team members. "I think it's great that we have our Shibu back." She told the group. "Stop by my place later on, I have apple cider and fresh-baked cakes for dessert." Cici told the boys coyly.

The muted rumbling of the team stomachs sounded like the distant cheers that they hope to hear in Bonta stadium later on in the springtime.

"Sure enough, Cici!" Dylan replied. "Come on fellas, lunch is probably waiting for the rest of us as well. See you later, Cici!"

"Right, Dylan!" Cici replied brightly. "And thanks again guys, you were just the medicine Shibu really needed.”

Shibu was up on his toes as he made a dash for the porch. Cici watched in amazement as her little brother stopped absolutely still where the porch itself began, and then stepped up, across the porch and into the house with a step so quiet that not even Cici's trained ears could hear it.

“Show off!” Cici whispered in the nearly silent deep forest voice which only another Ranger could hear.

Shibu beamed, and sat down at the table, where warm soup, fresh bread and dried fruit awaited him.

“C'mon, Sis!” Shibu said brightly. “There's plenty here. Tuck in if you want to!”

“I had some while I was making lunch for you, Little Brother. I'll just watch you eat.”

So saying, Cici pulled up a chair opposite Shibu at the table, and watched with delight as Shibu seemed to pack away what seemed almost like his own weight in his favorite foods. The nearly angelic expression of relief on Cici's face caught Shibu's attention as he picked up his soup bowl, and tipped it back, draining it with a quick, loud slurp!

“S'madder, Sis?” Shibu inquired, as Shibu set the empty bowl down again.

“I'm just so glad to see you feeling so much better, Sweet Shibu.”

Cici was even more delighted to see Shibu's usual self-confident smile. “Ya, I feel like I could jump right over that tree.” Shibu interjected, flashing Cici a thumb's up gesture universal to the Ranger's sign language.

“Don't get any big ideas for a while, Mister Smarty Hat!” Cici quipped. “You and I still need to have a little chat about what happened, how and why.” Said Cici in a more subdued voice. “Let's you and I take a walk, as soon as you're done, OK?”

“Anytime, Sis!” Shibu replied quickly. “Just as long as we don't worry Mom, All right?” Shibu asked using the Ranger's forest voice so that he would not be overheard.

Cici nodded in silent reply, and waited for Shibu to finish eating every morsel of food Cici had fixed for him.  
A few minutes later, as Shibu stood up and shouldered his bow and quiver, Cici was also ready to go.  
“Felice?” Cici called out gently.

“Yes, Dear?” Felice called back from her workroom where she was finishing a batch of sleeping potions.

“Shibu and I are off for the woods and some more Archery practice. We'll be back in an hour or two, will you be alright?”

“I'm fine, loves!” Felice called back brightly. “I just won't have all three of us falling asleep if I fumble one of these bottles.”

“Never happen, Mom! You're the best! You need anything collected from the woods, while we're out there?” Shibu called back.

“Maybe some willow root, sweetheart. But don't tire yourself looking. I have enough here for today, I believe. You two go and have a good time. I'll have tea and snacks waiting when you come back!”

That thought made Cici smile. Her afternoon tea with Felice was a high point of her day when she wasn't hunting, or giving Shibu the Ranger lessons he loved nearly as much as his mother and Cici herself!

Silently, Cici extended a gloved hand to Shibu. He took the offered lift, and soon found himself riding rather than walking as Cici hoisted Shibu up to her shoulders, and the pair made a single set of tracks for the woodlands on the edge of the village.

Cici was up on her toes as soon as she had grass beneath her feet. Ten long strides allowed both to come to a stop before two great tree stumps, the remnants of oak trees so massive that legends about the trees had continued to grow more than one hundred years after both had been cut down. Years of smoothing by weather and the passage of the Rangers who knew the spot well had transformed the hardwood into a welcome spot to sit and relax, as both stumps had been cut down to ground level.

Cici sat first, as Shibu eased onto the other great stump facing her.

“I can't come right out and tell you what happened.” Shibu began, “Because I'm still not sure.” Shibu began haltingly. “You saw what I saw. The wind took me off of the branch and down I went.” Shibu explained.

“I saw that much, and I'll have you know I've never been so scared, in this life, or the next.” Cici remarked shortly.

“Sorry, Sis.” Shibu replied in an even more quiet whisper. “I didn't do it on purpose.'

“I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry. Go On. What about those blue lights?” Cici continued.

“I remember throwing my arms out, trying to ride the wind as much as I could.” Shibu said. “All at once there was a blue circle in front of me, and I rolled and tumbled into it.” Shibu told Cici. “I was falling too fast to change direction.”

“I saw that blue circle too, Shibu.” Cici confirmed. “So it wasn't your imagination.” Cici told Shibu. His expression of relief was as if someone had lifted a weight from Shibu's shoulders.

“Then, all I remember was someplace white, all around me, and then there was another blue circle under my feet, and I was falling again. But it was as if I jumped off a lower limb of the tree. I was falling more slowly.” Shibu explained slowly, picking his words carefully as he spoke, thinking vividly about everything he could remember.

Cici nodded agreement. “You did disappear for just a moment. Then there was a second blue light, much closer to the ground. I saw you fall out of that opening, then you hit the grass at the base of the tree, and I don't remember much after that until you were in bed and Felice was using her brushes on both of us.” Cici confessed.

“It's OK, Sis.” Shibu consoled gently. “I guess we were both pretty scared there for a second or two.”

“Yep-yep!” Cici replied, expertly mimicking Shibu like the black crows who lived deeper in the woods.

That made Shibu giggle! The sound was like the crackle of a warm fire on a cold night to Cici's Ranger heart.

“So, these blue lights are real.” Shibu reasoned, using the keen mind that Cici knew he possessed. “We could both see them, so they were no hallucination.” Shibu said resolutely.

Hearing her brother use such a big word made Cici extra proud of Shibu. Anyone else his age would still be a broken, scared and tearful mess. But Shibu's mind would never allow that. Once more, Shibu was the youngest adult Cici had ever seen, and she was glad of it, for both their sakes. 

“I think you're right, so far, Shibu.' Cici confirmed. “I also think they came from you, Little brother.”

“Me?” Shibu said doubtfully.

“It's logical, Shibu. You were alone in mid air. I was too far away. Making blue openings in space is something not even the Great Cra has ever been able to do.”

“Let's try to do it again!” Shibu said after a moments consideration. 

But the idea still sounded like Shibu. Quick and impulsive.

But this time, like at the base of the tree, Cici found herself caught up in Shibu's outburst of both quiet strength and magnetic confidence. 

“OK, Little Brother. Let's see what you've got! “Cici's usual words of encouragement to Shibu made him smile again. But this time, it wasn't the cocky grin that Cici was so very used to seeing under those handsome blue eyes.

“I know I can do this.” Shibu confessed quietly. “I've seen it over and over again. In the dreams I had while I was healing.”

“Then go on, Ranger. Just do what comes naturally.” Cici replied as if Shibu had already succeeded.

Shibu stood up quietly, to give himself a little more room to move his arm. He flattened his palm and thrust his arm outward quickly to full length. Cici saw a fine sheen of blue light gather on Shibu's palm, and then flicker out, more like a small firefly. Shibu dropped his arm with a dejected look on his face.

“Try again, Shibu, and this time, think about being in trouble.” She advised more quietly.

Shibu quicken his movement, as he thought once more about falling out of that tree.

This time, Cici saw a brighter and more energetic light leap from Shibu's palm, and suddenly a few inches away from Shibu's hand was a vivid blue circle of light, with what seemed to be a perfect white center!

“Shibu!” You did it!” Cici said jumping up from where she sat. As Shibu seemed to shrink a bit, as he prepared to jump into the opening.

“Shibu! Wait!” Cici called out. Shibu saw her look quickly down at the ground. She brightened as she spotted a large acorn laying on the ground at her feet. Cici swept it up onto her gloved hand, and started to toss it thru the blue opening. But then she stopped. Just long enough to draw her short-bladed knife. Cici cut a small cross into the hard coat of the oak seed. Then, she took a moment to show the marked acorn to Shibu, who nodded with a slight smile. Satisfied, Cici tossed the nut casually into the blue opening.

“Now, Open another one a few feet away.” Cici said quickly.

This time, Shibu didn't try thinking about much of anything. The casual flip of his hand was more like a firm push against something invisible. Shibu was as surprised as Cici was as another opening which matched the first one popped into existence a yard or so away. The moment there were two openings, an acorn popped out of the second opening and plonked with a hollow sound against the roots of another massive tree nearby.

Cici gasped softly, and sprang toward the second opening to sweep up the acorn that had made the passage thru the blue openings. As she picked it up, she turned to Shibu, showing him the cross she had cut into the shell of the nut.

“Same acorn.” Cici observed.

Shibu plucked the nut from Cici's upturned palm and bracing the nut on the side of his thick index finger, Shibu displayed some of his understated strength by cracking the nut with a downward pressure of his thumbnail.

As he enjoyed the impromptu snack, Shibu turned to the second opening, hopped forward slightly, and before he could think, Shibu appeared back in the first opening, reversing the way the nut had gone. Shibu stepped out onto the grass again without thinking, and simply stood a step away, his arms crossed and smiling triumphantly.

Cici's quick eyes and quicker mind took in Shibu's instant movement, as well as his almost too casual unharmed state.

In a moment, the dynamics of Shibu's unusual skill hit Cici's mind as if that acorn weighed ten pounds! 

“Shi-bu..Come...and sit down with me.” Cici said slowly, more than a bit dazed.

Shibu noticed the change in Cici's voice, and stepped over to her, with the long stride worthy of a Ranger. Shibu noticed that both of the blue openings winked out of existence as soon as he stopped thinking about them. Shibu looked at Cici as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Cici had to draw a deep breath, and hold it as she took Shibu's hand's in her own. Only then did Shibu notice that Cici's hands were shaking.

“Shibu, my adorable little brother.” Cici began still trying to sort out what she was thinking.”You came to us as a miracle, now we have another one we can share.” Cici told Shibu slowly.

“I don't understand, Cici.” Shibu replied at once.

“Little Brother, I need to tell you some things. Things I've never said before. Mostly because I don't want to swell your head.” Cici confessed.

“Huh?”Shibu wondered, looking at Cici a bit strangely.

“Shibu, you're special. You always have been, and you always will be.” Cici began. You are like no one else in this whole world. You have to know that by now, Little Brother.”

Shibu dropped his eyes, as well as his head. “Yup.” Shibu said in a quiet, frightened whisper. “I don't know who I am, or now, what I am.”

“Oh sweetheart!” Cici replied. “You're amazing, that's what you are.” Cici said, taking Shibu gently into her strong arms and holding him close. As Cici held him, she began talking to him, quickly, as if Shibu might dissolve in her arms and she might lose him forever.

“Shibu, you were born on a lightning bolt. You began with a miracle. And you're still at it.” Cici told him, her voice rising with strength becoming to a Ranger.

“This ability you have.' Cici said slowly.”Is the greatest thing I've ever seen.” Cici counseled. “You can climb, little Brother. Trees or anything else you want. I bet you can go thru walls, or anything else.” Cici told Shibu as she began to reflect on Shibu's new skill.  
“I bet nothing can stop you from going anyplace you want, anytime.” 

“Me?” Shibu whispered. “I'm just me, that's all.”

This time Cici almost growled as she held Shibu.

“Shibu, would I lie to you?” she asked shortly.

“Never, Ever, Cici.” Shibu replied.

“Then here is the truth. I'll tell you exactly what I see and feel every time I look into those brilliant eyes of yours.” Cici continued. “You know Astronomy, Shibu?”

“You know I do, Sis.” Shibu replied.

Then you know what a meteorite is?” Cici asked, sounding pushy.

“Rocks that glow as they fall from the sky.” Shibu told her without much enthusiasm.

“Then you also know that some of those have metal in them?”

Shibu nodded listlessly.

“What sort of metal, Mister Blacksmith?” Cici pushed again.

“Steel.” Shibu replied.

“Right, Cici interjected. “Star Steel, Another gift given to a boy born on a lightning bolt, and under the Sea Dragon.” Cici recited. “That's the Shibu who I know, who I love and who I admire. That is you, right?” Cici asked, squeezing Shibu a bit roughly, so that Shibu had to flex his own muscles to wriggle away, and stand on his own again.

“Yep, that's me.” Shibu replied with a slightly more confident tone of voice.

”Then you're also smart enough to start figuring out how to help people when they need it with the way only you can move around.”  
Cici told Shibu sternly. “Don't let your power define you, My sweet Sea Dragon. You define your own power, That's what you've always done, and that's who you are. Understand?” Cici insisted in a tone that would except only one answer.

“Yep-Yep!' Shibu shot back, fast, bright and slightly cocky.

“Now That's my Brother Shibu!” Cici answered, both relief and energy returning to her own worried eyes.

Shibu was still, and thoughtful for a moment before he spoke again. “We can't tell people about this, Cici. Not all at once anyway.” Shibu reflected soberly. “They wouldn't understand, anymore then they would understand what I keep under this hat of mine.”

“Both of those are decisions you have to make, Shibu. But I want you to understand one thing, OK?” Cici asked at last.

“And what would that be, Sister Mine?” Shibu wanted to know.

“Whatever you decide, and whenever you decide it, I'll always love you and stand beside you, Brother mine.”

Cici was surprised but not terribly shocked as Shibu turned, and hugged Cici strongly enough to take the breath from her lungs! “Let's head for home, Cici. I bet Mom is looking for both of us about now.

“Yep-Yep!” Cici replied brightly as Shibu stood up and walked ahead a few paces, taking the point. Cici smiled and followed Shibu's lead as they walked back home.


	7. Heart of the White Stag

The days that rolled by after Shibu recovered were some of the happiest he had ever known. He fell into a dedicated training regime with Cici. One day for target practice, and one day for exercise. These alternated so that Shibu could fully recover after a day of long marches or hour upon hour practicing everything from silent walking to the correct way for a Ranger to breathe.

The days began long before sunrise, and sometimes only came to an end with the following sunrise.

After Shibu's first incredible night of five-hundred shots with his bow, Cici realized the sort of truly committed and disciplined student she had in her little brother.

That magical night had been like a key to unlock a determination and focus in Shibu that Cici found difficult to find in any adult, let alone one of Shibu's younger years.

For Shibu, it was all grand fun, and a great adventure. He was learning. That meant something to him, and Shibu once again showed off his breathtaking ability to concentrate on something, and after seeing it only once, being able to copy what he had seen with an exactitude the Cici still found difficult to understand. 

She had taught tens, perhaps hundreds, of her own people first to shoot, and then gradually to shoot better. Teaching required both a clever mind and patience to keep their minds focused on both form and function. Most of her Cra students had been bright enough, as they understood what was expected of them the first time they ever picked up and held a bow. But there were always more than a few who were endlessly nervous at first or downright distracted. These were the students that required extra explanation, and the sort of instruction that could calm and build confidence in a nervous disposition.

Cici was overjoyed when she saw none of these problems in Shibu. Her Little brother seemed to be a happy combination of clay to be willingly shaped and formed, combined with a masterful memory and a positively eerie ability to copy even the slightest detail in the most complex of lessons.

Shibu seemed to be good at everything, but at the end of his first month of day and night long marches thru woods that Shibu had never seen before, Cici knew in her most joyous heart that Shibu's skills seemed to excel when focused on the Primary Ranger skill of tracking.

Shibu had already spent days upon days at a time seemingly memorizing book page after book page filled with pen and ink illustrations of animal tracks. From Piwis to Gobballs, and every animal in between, Shibu knew them as well as his own fingers. When Cici marched him into the deep woods on the other side of the ridge that bordered the village, Cici half expected her bookish brother to be lost without a ponderous tome in his heavy backpack. Cici almost hopped for joy as Shibu stopped after only a few steps along the trail that lead down the ridge.

Shibu knelt, and looked deeply at the ground where the two of them had not yet walked.

“Two small does, and a fawn.” Shibu pronounced with confidence as he stood up again at Cici's side.

“That's exactly right, Shibu!” Cici said with absolute joy in her soft whisper of an answer.

“See?” replied Shibu in a slightly teasing tone. “I remember what I read. I bet you thought I would need to bring the book along didn't you, Sis?” Shibu asked. 

“Well, to be honest I thought you might need a few notes, here and there.” Cici confessed quietly. “I should know better by now, Little Brother, You're Amazing!” Cici replied almost silently. 

Her words and their manner of speech gave Shibu another demonstration of another unique Ranger skill, using a voice so quiet that the slightest puff of wind would wipe it away. But Shibu and Cici could hear and understand each other as if they spoke with hands cupped over their ears between them. 

Nearly silent speech was a skill used by the Ranger both in hunting, and in the occasional bit of scouting and sometime espionage that were the Ranger's daily stock in trade. For his part, Shibu's smile glowed so warmly that Cici thought to herself that she might use it to start their breakfast time campfire.

Cici watched with delight as Shibu stepped silently away from where the two stood, and as Cici collected rocks to form a pit for the fire, Shibu walked from tree to tree, like a child turned loose in a bazaar and told to pick out his favorite sweets. Shibu selected the eggs, nuts, roots and berries for their all natural meal, along with a pair of stout sticks upon which their food could be cooked, over the small fire.

“Good job, Shibu!” Cici told her brother just as Cici put tinder and spark to the new fire. “But if we keep eating like this, we'll both have to walk twice as far every day to stay in shape!”

Shibu giggled as he sat down at the edge of the fire, so he could take off his backpack for a moment. Cici was surprised that rather than a book, Shibu drew a dark heavy square of black wrought iron from his pack, and set it down gingerly over the building fire!

“Ok, Little Brother, you pass for today.” Cici said at last. “You're my best student ever, Shibu.” Cici told him honestly.

“I have a good teacher, and I want to do well, and learn fast, so that I can learn more everyday.” Shibu explained. The commitment and honesty shimmering in Shibu's bright eyes seemed for a moment to make the sunrise redundant, as Cici fought back the impulse to sweep Shibu into her arms and simply hold him.

“You're going to get the best marks during next weeks camping test, but I suppose you know that already, Mister Smarty-Hat?”

“Yep-yep!” Shibu replied with a boyish enthusiasm that Cici found infectious. “Where will we be going?” Shibu asked casually as he broke the first of the eggs over the hot square of black iron.

“You know I can't tell you ahead of time, Dear.” Cici replied with a clever smile.

“I hope it's high up in the mountains!” Shibu replied. “I want to see more snow, and maybe the Northern Lights Too!”

“I like the mountains in the springtime too.” Cici replied fondly. “Cool, green and growing. That's where a Ranger belongs.” Cici reflected with a dreamy tone.

Shibu smiled in return. “Deer.” he said thoughtfully.

“Huh?” Cici asked, not quite understanding.

“I'm just thinking of the Legend of the White Stag.” Shibu replied.

“Maybe we'll get to see him somewhere up there above the snow line.”

“They say he only appears once in every generation. Don't get your hopes up too high, for now.” Cici told Shibu as she flipped her egg with the edge of her hunting knife.

“Is the Stag really Cra's Brother, Cici?” Shibu asked honestly. “Or is that just another story for kids?”

“I can't say what others believe, Little Brother.” Cici answered slowly. “But I can tell you what I believe.”

Shibu nodded eagerly as he cracked and tended to the second egg and the roasting herbs and roots laying nearby on a slightly cooler part of the iron square.

“Cra loved her brother as much as I love you, and I would do anything to keep you alive and happy. Cra would not allow the poachers to take her brother's life, and I'll always do whatever it takes to keep you safe and well too.”

“Thanks, Sis, I love you too.” Shibu replied gently. “It's all ready!” Shibu said brightly as the roasting roots popped like corn on the hot iron and the smell of warming herbs scented the newly sunlit air.

“We've got to bring Felice up here, one of these days, Shibu. I think she would like this spot as much as I do.” Cici told her brother.

“I know!” Shibu interjected all of a sudden. “I could go back and get her, and all of us could spend time up here! Are you in a hurry to go back for anything today, Sis?” Shibu asked urgently.

“Not a bit, Little Brother!” Cici answered fast. “As long as I have the two of you with me, anywhere in this world is home for me!”

“Cool!” Shibu interjected. “Let me finish breakfast.” Shibu replied. “That will give me the energy to go back the fast way, and bring back Mom, and a tent for all three of us.”

“Careful Shibu.” Cici reminded quietly. Even though she knew better than anyone in their village that Shibu's keen skills as a Ranger only multiplied when Shibu used the unique blue circles of light as an undisclosed method of travel.

“Not to worry, Sis.” I won't even be gone for an hour. We'll need more water too, so I'll collect it on the way down.”

“Shibu, you're sounding more and more like the Ranger I already know that you are. Get going so both of you can get back. While you're away, I want to mark some trails along the top of the ridge, just so we don't fall down the far side once it gets dark.” Cici explained.

“OK Sis, see you soon!” Shibu's bright and easy parting was punctuated with a sudden flash of welcome warmth as her Little Brother took Cici around her waist and hugged her, snuggling in warmly for one extra moment! “Love you, Sis!” Shibu said tenderly.

Deep inside her, Cici felt her heart melt like sugar candy and slowly dribble into her boots. There were still many ways that Shibu didn't know his own strength, and his absolute gift for simply melting people with his wide open and pure affection was one of Shibu's most powerful gifts. Shibu's first impulse was caring, and his second was a natural affection that redoubled the incredible strength of his caring heart.

Shibu let go,and pivoted gracefully, going up on his toes and into the Ranger Run as easily as his next heartbeat. In a moment, Shibu was gone from Cici's sight, and the Cra Ranger put down a sudden impulse of loneliness before she turned to her first task of improving and enlarging the ridge top camp site for three people, rather than two. He had been gone less than ten seconds, and she already missed him! Perhaps that was the most profound of all Shibu's formidable gifts.

The only thing Shibu enjoyed more than running was running someplace up high. He had grown up learning to climb from the chipmunks, and racing them playfully along ancient tree branches that had grown intertwined over hundreds of years of natural growth. But the thickly wooded ridge line was higher than any trees near the village. Up here, he could see for leagues of distance. So far that the gray outline of Emelka came to the top of the horizon at the same time he did.

This was Shibu's high place, where the Ranger in him could look down across the timeless forest thicker than any tapestry that carpeted any of the walls and floors of any castle. Here, he stood for just a moment, and let the best of the Ranger Creed come to him.

To protect, and to nurture.

In this moment, in this place, Shibu felt strong in all the very best of ways. There was a tranquility that seemed to touch him as gently as the hazy morning sunlight. He was a protector, and this was his land. The thought and the dedication came to him as gently as his own breath and heartbeat, and as Shibu used the moment of elevation to survey his domain, there was a touch of both satisfaction and fulfillment inside him which Shibu relished as much as the morning breeze rising off of the lea side of the ridge. In that moment, all was right with Shibu's world, and his only goal now was to bring his family together so they could share in it with him.

Shibu pulled in a single, deep clean breath of the morning air and allowed the energy in it to charge him as much as the new day. There was a practical side to Shibu as well, and his reason for selecting this particular overlook on the top of the ridge had a practical implication too.  
The working iron mines inside the ridge were older than the histories recorded in any surviving books. It was from one of these timeless mines, far below at the base of the ridge that Shibu had chipped out his first piece of iron ore, as soon as he could hold a pick. The Enutrof miners from his village had set up a smaller version of a village inside the ridge, and Shibu knew its major veins of ore and its countless branch tunnels as completely as he knew the grass of the Village Green where he played Boufball. 

That meant that Shibu also knew the locations of the tunnels and quarry sites inside the mine that filled with water when it rained. The watershed along the ridge drained water thru small openings once used to provide fresh air and sunlight to the mining crews. But the ore below had been depleted years ago, and some of the tunnels and galleries were left to fill with rainwater filtered to a crystalline purity by the layers of rock that still made up the heavy ridge. Here and there among the heavy rocks, small openings remained, were a weighted bottle or a wine skin could be lowered into the small lake of pure water that cut its own meandering paths among the rocks of the long abandoned mines.

The water flowed endlessly, slowly, one drop at a time, in a never ending quest to reach a lower point, where the out rush would be channeled into baked clay pipes with a glass lining, and the flows of pure water diverted for both work and drinking in the village below.

The water that came up in Shibu's bottle as he pulled it back was as pure and cold as it could be, and was flavored with the heavy taste of iron that Shibu had always known. Once he was certain the water was good, he took two more bottles from his leather belt, and lowered them each in turn into the underground spring. Three bottles was enough to last three people for two days, according to Ranger lore, but Shibu also knew that Felice would take over the cooking for the three of them, meaning the extra water was most likely going to wind up in a cooking pot rather than being sipped from the bottle. That suited Shibu all the more. No one could cook like his mother, and even with the feral nature of the camp site, Felice would be certain that her family ate better than well, on whatever nature and Cici's bow could provide.

With the bottles full, and the trees as thick as fur on a boar, stepping away from the top of the ridge by only a few steps meant that not even the local deer could see Shibu as he cautiously thrust out a flattened palm, holding it up, as if to stop someone who could not be seen.  
There was a fine sheen of pure blue light that gathered on his palm and seemed to leap a few inches forward, forming into a perfectly round circle almost exactly his own height. It seemed to hang in space before him as if the opening had been there for all time, and Shibu smiled at the result with a still uneasy familiarity. His work was half done, because he had practiced enough in the deep woods to understand that the blue circles were most fascinating and powerful when used in pairs.

Shibu knew the geography of the ridge itself as well as the most senior miners in his village. He looked farther down the tree line that tumbled down the rocks in the direction of home. About three hundred yards down the line of the ridge, there was another small clearing. 

Far too small for camping, but large enough for Shibu to stand steady and cast his next pair of blue circles.

He had cautiously discovered that he could cast them in pairs while he slid thru the open air between pairs. So they manifested in pairs, six altogether, numbers three and four cast as soon as he left the second of his first pair of circles. This way, Shibu could start and maintain a nearly effortless “sliding” motion as he passed into and out of the set pairs of blue openings.

The practical effect was that Shibu could “slide” down the three hundred foot elevation of the ridge so quickly that there seemed to be no difference at all in altitude between the top of the ridge and the spot he used to hide his landings, both graceful and not so graceful, from the curious eyes of his fellow villagers. The spot was secluded enough so that anyone looking in that direction would see Shibu walking out of the deep woods, something that was common enough for a Ranger in training.

As he landed near the base of the ridge, Shibu was less than three hundred feet from home, and pure reflex dropped him back into the Ranger Run, which allowed him to cover the rest of the distance to the Village Green in a series of bounding leaps worthy of a young stag, testing his power and balance with each new leap.

“Shi-boo!” A familiar voice cheered arena style across his hearing. The sound and the energy of it brought a smile to his face.

“Hay, Dylan!” Shibu shot back quickly as the captain of the Boufball team and Shibu's best friend dropped an arm over Shibu's shoulders.

“What are you up to, Superstar?” Dylan asked casually.

“I came home to get Mom.” Shibu answered fast. “Cici and I found a real cool place to camp out up on the ridge.” Shibu went on. “Cici and I wanted to make a family gathering out of it.”

“Way cool!” Dylan responded.

“You wanna come too?” Shibu asked fast. “I'm sure my mom could talk to your mom and it would be easy after that.”

The lanky young Ecaflip who was five years older than his best friend, rolled the idea over in his head. “Yeah, sounds fantastic. I could hang with you, Shibu. Can we pack a Boufball along with the tent?” Dylan asked with a sly half smile and a wink.

“I don't see why not!” Shibu responded. The woods are too dense for a real game, but there's enough space to work on footwork and short passing.” Shibu told the leader of his team.

“Great! Just what we need to work on! Maybe I can even slow you down enough to learn some of your fast footwork!” Dylan shot back fast.

“Cool!” Shibu interjected. “I gotta pack a few things, then I'll bring the moms together at your place. After that, we can all leave together.”

“That's what I've always liked about you, Shibu. You always have a plan.” Dylan complemented with a big smile. Dylan moved quickly, taking Shibu into a playful headlock, and touselling his woolen hood and the familiar hat underneath.

Shibu broke the gentle grapple the same way he always did. He shifted his weight, and swept Dylan up into his arms for a moment, before standing the older boy gently back on his feet a step or two distant.  
It always made Dylan chuckle, because he admired both the strength and the flowing nature that went with Shibu's gentle counter movement.

“Ok, Superstar, I'll head back over to my place and wait for the two of you to spring me, before Mom can get out the melon list.”

“Mellon list?” Shibu wondered with an odd expression.

“Yeah, you know..” Dylan answered. “Honey do this” and “Honey do that.”

Shibu almost fell over laughing where he stood!  
“OK, I'll do whatever it takes to save my best friend from a weekend filled with melons!” Shibu shot back. “We ought to be by your place in a half hour or so.”

“I'm counting on you to rescue me,Superstar. I'll see you at home, OK?”

“Count on me, Dylan!” Shibu answered as the two friends parted.  
Dylan's family owned the largest single plot of land in their village. They were the best farmers in the whole township, and most of Dylan's days outside of school were spent taking care of teams of pickers and growers who brought in and shared in the crops they grew on the family's land. Dylan was bright, and had a head for mathematics that came naturally to someone who was really good at working land. But as the family's eldest boy, it also meant that lots of Dylan's time wasn't his own. From the time Shibu had been old enough for his stellar kicking skills to show themselves, Shibu had used their favorite game to pry Dylan loose from the daily grind of numbers, ledgers,weights and measures. And the mutual friendship between the two had grown along with their mutual Boufball skills.

Shibu jaunted toward home with a quick and happy step, his excitement over the weekend to come growing with every stride of the Ranger Run.  
As usual Shibu hit his mark, his final stride taking him to withing a half a step of his front door, where his step both slowed and softened so that Shibu could walk into his own living room with a step that even Cici could not hear unless she made an effort to listen. 

For Felice, Shibu's natural grace was just another part of the wonderful energy that Shibu commanded as easily as his own breathing. In the eyes of the Enripsa healer, Shibu seemed to appear almost out of nowhere, and pad silently into the house, at what seemed to Felice to be the exact moment that she wanted to see her boy most!

“Hello, Sweetie hat!” Felice greeted him playfully as she turned around from her potion making bench!

Shibu seemed to slide across the open space between them, and in the next moment, Shibu was cuddled up warmly in Felice's arms.

“Hi mom, I came to get you. Come camping with us! Cici and I found this really beautiful spot up on the ridge!” Shibu explained gently although the rising tone of his voice gave away his own enthusiasm for the idea.

“My Stars, Shibu, that does sound wonderful! It's been months since we last got out into nature.”Let me pack up a few odds and ends. And I'll bet you'll want the big tent, too.” Felice said with a smile.

“Yep-Yep! That'll leave room for all four of us, as we can all be comfortable.” Shibu answered. “I also invited Dylan to come up the ridge with us, Is that OK, Mom?” Shibu asked more cautiously.

“Shibu, That's wonderful!” Felice replied warmly. I want to see you with your friends more often. Both you and Dylan have something else in common, Dearest.”

“What would that be, Mom?” Shibu wanted to know.

“Both of you work way too hard for your age, most of the time.” Felice replied as she rubbed noses gently with her son.

“Yeah, I guess I might, but I know Dylan definitely does work too hard.” Shibu agreed. “We thought you might help persuade Dylan's mom to let him off for the weekend.”

“For my boy, and his best buddy, I think I can arrange that!” Felice replied in a bubbly tone. “When we get over there, just smile and look good, as usual. Cassandra owes me a favor, and I think it's about time I collected.” Felice told her boy.

“I think some time in the woods might help relax her too.” Shibu replied in a soft whisper that came with the cute smile that only Shibu could pull off. “Dylan's mom is nice, but she's way to intense at times.”

“She has loads of responsibility, my sweet.” Felice answered in the same quiet whisper. “And, yes, she piles it on Dylan most of the time.” Felice confessed. “That's why you and I are going to liberate him, because he needs the time away as much as you do.”

“Thanks Mom, You're the best!” Shibu replied hugging Felice once more, ever so gently.

“Sometimes, sweetie, boys just need to be boys, that's as natural as the trees.” Felice replied. “Run along now and pack up the tent, while I fix us some little tidbits for the weekend.” Felice told Shibu.

The dark haired boy paused to think for a moment, rather than running off without a plan.

“We'll only need the tent this time, I think.” Shibu reflected. “We can cut poles and stakes from fallen trees on the ridge.”

Felice nodded brightly. Can you manage the small camp stove, and an extra lantern?” Felice asked.

“No problem, Mom! I can pack all that into the extra bucket.” Shibu answered.

“That's fine.” I can cook more with the camp stove, and keep all of us properly fed all weekend.” I'll just pack up some extra flour and corn meal to go along too.”

“Thanks, Mom!' Shibu called back brightly, as he occupied himself with rolling the large tent into as small a package as possible. 

Between the two of them, they were ready to leave in less than half an hour. As they met again in the living room, Felice gently patted the cushion next to her as she floated over to the large sofa, and fluttered down to have a seat.

Shibu scrambled over quickly to sit as close to his Mom as he could.

“Shibu Dear?” I'm going to trust you with most of the heavy fetch and carrying, until we meet at the camp site. I hope you won't mind. But I also know that you have ways of getting around that I don't, and to be honest, it's going to be more difficult then it used to be for me to fly up the windward side of the ridge. ”Felice confessed quietly. “I'm also taking along a box of light brushes, just in case, but that's about all I'll be able to carry.”

“You know about the circles of blue light, Mom?” Shibu asked directly.

Felice nodded. “Yes, my Dearest special boy. Cici told me what little she knows when I asked her about them.”

“I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to keep secrets from you. It's just that I'm not sure myself about what they are, or how or when to use them.” Shibu confessed quietly. “I wanted to wait until I knew what they are, before I showed you. I didn't want to scare you, Mom.” Shibu finished with a snuggling hug that Felice joined in.

“Whatever those blue light circles are, My sweet boy, they are a part of you, like your hair, or your fingers and toes. Just another wonderful part of who you are.” Felice responded. “You can't ever scare me, my Darling Shibu, I love you far too much and too deeply for that.” Felice told Shibu.

Shibu hugged his Mom all the closer.

“But I also think you're right in being very careful how and when you use them, sweetness. People would start asking questions that no one can answer quite yet. So, I had a simple idea. Everyone has little secrets that they know about members of their family, Shibu. Until you and we understand more about them, and how to use them, the blue light is a family secret, for emergencies only, especially with other people nearby. Does that suit you, Dearest Mine?”

Shibu nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mom.” Shibu replied simply.

“Now Both your sister and I understand that you may have to practice, so you can understand what you can do with your special skills. So when you're sure you're absolutely alone, you can use the blue light as you see fit. You can practice in the house when everything is closed up, and when Cici takes you into the deep woods, so you can practice and be sure no one is looking on with prying eyes. Does that make you feel better, Dearest?”

“Yes, Thank you for understanding, Mom!” Shibu replied as mother and son held one another on the soft sofa.

“You have a right to be who you are, my sweet Sea Dragon.” Felice whispered to Shibu. But the world may not be ready for all that you are for a while yet. That's why, like anything else, to be good at it you must practice. I want you to have the time and space You'll need for that, my Darling Shibu.”

I love you, Mom.” Shibu whispered softly just before Felice kissed him on the forehead gently.

“You want me to take you up to the top of the ridge, Mom?” Shibu asked. “I'll do it if it's easier for you. I can manage a second trip back for the tent and the supplies.” 

“No, Dearest, that's all right. I'll go up with you and Dylan. I think between the two of you holding me up, I can make it.”

Shibu giggled brightly at the image in his Mother's words. No one in the village was a better flier than his Mother. She could outmaneuver a goshawk on the wing if the moment called for it. But she didn't use her skills unless someone was in dire need.

Shibu let that thought resound thru his mind for just a moment. Then, he understood all she had told him as Mother and son sat on the sofa together.

Felice and Shibu gathered up their supplies, and once their home was secure for the weekend, the pair walked the well worn path that led to one of the largest houses in the village.

'Hay-o, Dylan!” Shibu called out as the two of them got to the wide front porch made of heavy timbers and a path that was lined with heavy stone blocks.  
Dylan bounded out of his house and down the front steps, seemingly doing his very best imitation of Shibu!

This time, rather than escape Dylan's headlock greeting, Shibu scooped up the older boy basket style and just held onto him in spite of the added weight of the large backpack Dylan wore!

“Well don't you two just look so good together!” Dylan's mother said as she stepped into view on the porch, a few steps away.

“Hello, Cassandra!” Felice said, gently greeting another of the friends whom she had known since childhood.

“Felice, Dear!” the Ecaflip replied, perking up slightly along with the tone of her voice. “Dylan didn't tell me to expect company.”

“It's all right, Cassie. You know you never have to put yourself out just for us.” Felice responded. “We came to ask if we could steal your eldest away for a weekend of camping along with us.”

“Yes, Felice dear. Dylan told me, and I think its a wonderful idea!” Casandra replied evenly.

“You do?” Shibu interjected, not meaning to say anything, but having the words pop out as a complete surprise!

Cassandra's eyes flickered toward Shibu and Dylan.

“You two belong together.” Cassandra replied. “How in the world can you ever have a best friend, like your Mother and I, unless you do things together?” Cassie asked warmly. “Dylan is a good boy, but he works too hard. Anyway, the spring harvest doesn't start for a week or so yet. It'll be a good chance to get my boy away from those dusty old ledgers anyway.”

“We'll just be gone over the weekend, Cassie. I promise to keep an eye on these two scamps.” Felice replied.

“I know, Felice, I know. You're practically like a grandmother to Dylan anyway, so I know he'll be better than all right.”

“Cassie, sweetheart, I can't thank you enough, for Shibu most of all.”

“Think nothing of it, Felice, Dear. After all, when you go on an adventure, everyone should bring along a little luck, and my Dylan is luckier than most to have friends like you and our Shibu.”

Even holding Dylan in his arms like an extra pack couldn't hide Shibu's elation!

“Thank you Cassandra, ma'am!” Shibu blurted out in sheer happiness and relief. 

“You two are just too cute together, Shibu.” Cassandra answered. “Well, if your intent on camping, you'd better go before you lose all of the morning light. Be careful, and have fun both of you.”

“We will, Mom!” Dylan called out, practically beaming from ear to ear as Shibu turned and set his best friend down gently on his own two feet again!

“Thanks again, Cassie. I owe you one, for Shibu.” Felice added quietly to the conversation.

“Never you mind for now, Felice Dearest. We can talk about that again some day soon. For now, this is as much for my son as it is for yours.”

Felice nodded at her own best friend from childhood and then turned to the pair of strapping youths before her.

“C'mon boys!” Felice interjected. “I may need both of you to help me get to the top of that ridge!”

As the happy trio seemed to float down the steps, across the Village Green and toward the ridge line, Cassie whispered a few words after the group. “Good luck, my boys.” Dylan's mother called out softly. It was a benediction for any Ecaflip to evoke their luck, and in spite of the fear she felt race down her spine, Cassie Silverstein just knew that luck would help them all, somehow.

The trio slid across the green ground, and toward the woods along the low end of the ridge. Shibu was up on his toes, even as he walked slowly between Felice and Dylan. After a few more steps, the ground began to show a slight but constant rise in elevation. Felice shifted to her wings, and went ahead by a step or two, watching their walking path for large stones and thick branches that might impede their progress. Shibu was already kicking aside any stone larger than a walnut to make the path smoother for Dylan, who was stuck on flat feet, covered with an Ecaflip's traditional wooden sandals.

“Hay, Buddy. If you start to have trouble with the uphill, just jump on, and I'll give you a lift until we hit the top.”Shibu teased his best friend with a smile and a wink.

“Not happening, hat boy!” Dylan shot back. “Before we get up top, all the firewood we need all weekend says you wind up on my back!”

“You're on, Captain!” Shibu replied quickly. Shibu took two long, fluid strides both of which showed both the speed and strength of Shibu's toe tip walk. Suddenly, Shibu was almost two yards farther up the ridge, taking point for Dylan and Felice.

“I haven't gone all the way up in a couple of summers.” Dylan admitted. “This place is like another world. Strange, but cool for a village guy.” Dylan remarked.

“Have you never been camping before, Dylan?” Felice asked.

“I have, but never up here.” Dylan answered.

“Then you're in for a good time, sweetheart. You know Cici is a Ranger, don't you?” Felice asked.

“Oh Yeah!” Dylan replied enthusiastically. “She's as cool as Shibu is, and that's something!”

Walking more slowly up ahead by a yard, Shibu giggled. “If Cici were here, she would blush!” He warned with a smile Dylan could see. “And she would just have to give you a hug!” Shibu cautioned.  
Shibu laughed outright as he saw his best friend bite his lower lip gently!

“Don't worry, Bud.” Shibu said with a bright smile. “She would think you're cute, and she'd say so too!”

“Not so bad, after all.” Dylan shot back. “Maybe the two of you can teach me a little bit of that way cool Ranger stuff you can do.” Dylan asked, changing the subject quickly.

“Hay, Dylan, we're always looking for recruits.” Shibu answered. “Why don't you join up?” Shibu asked in a level and serious tone.

The thought stopped Dylan where he stood, even on the sloping ground.

“Say now, that would get me off of the farm, sure enough!”

“Hay, Buddy, if that's what you really want, I'll teach you just the way you once taught me!”

“You'd do that for me, Shibu?”

“You know it, Bud. You have everything it takes, and that's straight as an arrow from a Ranger, and someone who knows what it feels like to become one.”

Even in the shadows cast by the denser stands of trees, Shibu could see the sparkle of light in his best friend's eyes.

“Shibu, you've gone beyond amazing.” Felice said to her son with a note of encouragement in her voice.

“We'll have a lot to talk about once we get into camp.” Shibu replied easily. “And Cici will do most of the talking.” Shibu added. “Can you handle that,Dylan?”

“You bet your hat, Shibu!” Dylan answered. “After I drop you off in camp, at least she'll be able to tell that I'm in good shape!” Dylan replied in a cocky tone.

“We'll see what happens when the altitude and the slope of the ridge start talking back to your feet, buddy of mine. Remember, your best friend is a Ranger. I could carry both of you all the way up, and I wouldn't mind it in the least.” Shibu told Dylan directly.

Dylan turned slowly to Felice who was fluttering along behind him by a step or two.

“He's not kidding, is he?” The young Ecaflip asked in a serious tone.

“No, Dear, not at all. Shibu takes being a Ranger very seriously. And Rangers don't lie, Dylan.” Felice replied calmly.

Dylan looked back toward Shibu slowly, the light still in his eyes.

“Wow, what have I gotten myself into?” Dylan wondered out loud.

“Whatever you make of it, Dylan." Felice replied. "And whatever may happen. you couldn't be in it with anyone better than Shibu and Cici.” Felice replied with her own honest tone of confidence, to re-assure a clearly surprised young Ecaflip.


	8. Track of the Faun

About a quarter of an hour later, Cici's keen ears caught the sound of ultra-soft Rangers steps slipping quickly across the ridge line, headed toward the camp.  
Her trained ears could recognize Shibu's footsteps from one hundred yards away, but the red-headed Cra Ranger was surprised in her turn to see a familiar figure rolling up the length of the ridge line even as he carried two more people on his back!

“Hay, Little Brother!” Cici called out gladly. “I thought you might just be late, but I see you've brought reinforcements!” Cici said in a quiet but happy tone of voice.

Felice, who was atop the stack, holding gently to Shibu's rounded shoulder, shot toward Cici as if the Enripsa had been rolled down a ramp before flying directly at Cici!  
The Cra Ranger moved fast, and caught Felice in mid-air, spinning around with her in the space of two backward steps, to spend the extra energy of the exuberant reunion! In just a moment, Felice was snuggled around Cici as the Enripsa and the Cra sank happily and slowly to a seat on a length of log that Cici had placed across almost the entire width of their camp site!

“Missed you, Dearest!” Felice said with gentle delight as Cici held her close for just a moment more.

Watching the happy meeting a few steps distant, Dylan was all smiles as Shibu slowly stood up straight, allowing his best friend to slide gently off of his back and shoulders and stand on his own near the center of the camp site.

“Wow!” Dylan interjected. “This place is great!”

“I told you, didn't I?” Shibu answered, brimming with energy as he dropped a hand on Dylan's shoulder.”Now, my friend, about all that firewood?”

Dylan suddenly swallowed, hard enough for Cici and Felice to hear across the clearing.

“Yeah” Dylan answered more slowly. “About that, Shibu my old pal.” Dylan said to his best friend with a cheesy grin.

Shibu's laughter from the top of the ridge was so loud, it must have surely echoed in Emelka!

Cici glanced up from her embrace with Felice, Saw Dylan and smiled warmly. “Hay Dylan, I see you decided to join ringmaster Shibu's traveling show! Are you hurt?” Cici's tone shifted as Dylan slid off of Shibu's back, and her little brother stood upright and stretched casually, showing no sign of exertion or any extraordinary effort. Shibu slid out of his loaded pack and harness, and took a seat on the long log, next to Dylan.

“Naw, Shibu was just winning a bet. I cracked the sole of one shoe coming up the ridge.” Dylan explained. “I didn't think Shibu had it in him, he bet me otherwise.”

“That's My Little Brother and Your Best Friend, Dylan. You've heard me call Shibu “amazing”, now you know a small part of the reason why.” Cici answered with a knowing smile that almost matched Dylan's cheesy grin.

“Shibu, I just don't know what to say.” Dylan stuck out his hand in admiration of Shibu.

“That's nothing, just wait till you see Cici practicing with her bow.” Shibu said in a modest tone. “Anyway, that's Ranger lesson number one, All Right? Shibu asked, more seriously. “What we say, we mean, and what we say we'll do, we do.”

“One hundred percent Cool!” Dylan responded. “After seeing what Shibu can do, I definitely want in!”

“In?” Cici wondered out loud.

“Yep-Yep!” Replied Shibu with his own big smile lighting up the camp site like the second sunrise of the morning. “Dylan wants to join the Rangers!”

“Well..” Replied Cici in a reserved tone “I hadn't planned on making this a working weekend, but as Shibu has probably told you already, a Ranger is always on duty.”

“Sounds great!” Dylan replied. “What's the first thing you need me to do?”

“First off, Relax and have some lunch. Then the four of us need to have a long heart-to-heart talk. Cici said evenly.

“Sounds really good! Dylan replied. “I worked up an appetite, as far as I walked. I can only think that Shibu must be somewhere between hungry and starving. He did most of the work coming up.”

“Let me make lunch for everyone.” Felice said, radiating a gentle contentment. “This place and this moment are too wonderful for anyone to go without.” Shibu's mom told the group.

“Well, somebody has to gather the firewood it seems.” Shibu said slyly in Dylan's direction. Shibu grinned as he watched his best friend squirm a little!

“This time, Dylan gets a break.” Cici spoke up. “The fire is already laid and ready. I have all I need, for lunch, anyway.”

“If I'm gonna be a Ranger, I better start putting muscle where my muzzle is. Dinner will come, sooner than later,” Dylan reflected quietly as he rose from his seat next to Shibu.

“You need some help, Dylan?” Shibu asked as he stood up as well.

“Naw, Shibu, stay put and enjoy. I'll be fine.” Dylan answered with a bright smile.

“Seeing as this is your first time up in the high country, maybe I better go along anyway, just to keep the Snipes away.” Shibu told his best friend.

“Oh, Thanks.” Dylan answered, as Shibu clapped a thick arm around Dylan's shoulder. “Say, Shibu?”

“Yeah?”

“What's a snipe, anyway?” Dylan asked as the two of them walked away from camp. Shibu stopped for just a moment, turned his head, and gave Cici a sly wink!

It was all Cici could do to stop herself from rolling backward off of the log, while she was still holding Felice!

Whatever is the matter, Cici?” Felice asked.

Cici had to pause for a moment to wipe the tears of laughter away from her green eyes. “Dylan will be a smashing Ranger.” Cici confessed to Felice in a confidential whisper. “That is, if Shibu's sense of humor doesn't drive him barking mad first!” Cici whispered simply.

“I'd better get lunch started.” Felice replied. “If I know those two, Dylan will be hungry from all the time he's spent chasing Shibu with a bundle of dry sticks!”

This time, Cici caved in completely, sinking to her knees in convulsions of suppressed laughter, as the slightly distant sound of two sticks tapping together echoed across the top of the ridge! 

The two team mates were back in well under an hour, with Shibu leading Dylan slowly back into camp, because his Ecaflip best friend could not see where he was walking, over or around a bundle of sticks that looked more like a fascine than a collection of firewood!  
Cici saw her brother leading a woodpile with Ecaflip feet back into camp, and she dashed over in the natural Ranger style to lend a hand, so Shibu could get his best friend back. Cici had set up a primitive crib for the firewood, made out of four long, thick branches,sharpened to four points, and sunk deeply into the crown of the ridge. But what Dylan dropped onto the pile, as Shibu worked to keep the stack even on top, gave the campers more wood than they could burn day and night over the whole weekend!

“We double walked the entire ridge line, Cici.” Shibu announced proudly. “If there's another bit of fallen dry wood anywhere on the length of this ridge top, I'll eat it, rather than lunch.”

“Great job, both of you!” Cici complemented. “This will also cut down the fire risk up here if we have a dry spring and a hot summer. Clearing brush helps the trees grow, and reduces the risk of fires.”

“The work is worth it, if it keeps this place safer.” Dylan remarked with satisfaction. “This is one of the nicest spots between here and Emelka. I wish I'd come up here years ago.”

“Stick with the Rangers, Dylan.” Shibu encouraged, as his friend helped Shibu balance the pile of new wood, and then sank to a seat on the log that bisected their encampment. “We know all the best spots, Don't we, Sis?' Shibu asked.

Cici nodded. “Yep, and just so you know, Dylan, This place and the mines inside the ridge were first mapped by Rangers when Felice and Aris were your age.”

“Wow!” Dylan answered. “I never knew the Rangers did so much work!”

“Does your mom have a copy of a book at your house, bound in red leather and nearly as big as you are, Dylan?” Cici asked playfully.

Shibu giggled when he saw the look on Dylan's face change from surprise, into disbelief, and at last to a hint of fear and confusion!

“Don't tell me that Rangers can see thru walls, too!” Dylan interjected.

“Not yet, but some of us are closer then others.” Cici answered back, pausing to wink playfully at Shibu.

“That red bound book I mentioned is an atlas. A book of maps, made by Rangers. After we printed it, The Cra gave a copy to every home on the edge of the forest, so no one, including kids, would wander off into the woods, and get lost.”

“What a great Idea!” Dylan reacted. “It also made it really easy to set up fast and safe trade routes all over Bonta! Mom uses that book at least five or six times a day, every time we send out a shipment or arrange a delivery.” Dylan told Cici.

“Right, and its also saved generations of Rangers from spending days at a tine looking for kids lost in the forest.”

“Well, I'll be a flea-bitten kitten!” Dylan exclaimed. “I've handled that book almost as much as Mom has, and I never knew.”

“That's the Rangers for you, Good buddy!” Shibu said offering Dylan a water bottle, which he quickly accepted, and from which he drank a deep pull. “The Rangers teach you all the things you never learned in school!”

“Which Ranger lesson is Lunch?” Dylan asked slyly. “Hauling an entire tree a branch at a time gives you a good appetite!”

“And you've earned it, by the looks of things, both of you!” A familiar voice called from close to the nearby campfire, where the pot that was the biggest part of a camp stove bubbled happily with both the sound and scent of a hardy stew!

“Come and get it, everyone!” Felice called out. “Because if you don't eat it all, I just might!” Felice called out to the group.

“Let's move fast, Dylan!' Shibu remarked. “When Mom says stuff like that, she's not joking!” Shibu warned his best friend.

“I'll follow you, Shibu!” Dylan replied with a smile. “You're the only one I know who might be fast enough to get us both some before it all goes away!”

Dylan's worry was unfounded, Because Felice already had a trio of well used but clean wooden bowls set aside from the fire to cool, each of them nearly overflowed with a rich stew packed with meat and vegetables, all native to the local forest. Each bowl was also topped with a huge slab of fresh hot cornbread, topped with honey and butter!

Felice made certain that Dylan was given his portion first, and from there, everyone helped themselves to dashes of sea salt, wild onions, and dried garlic to flavor their food to taste.

Dylan ate as if all of Ecaflip's blessings had landed right in his bowl, and, by the time everyone had a second portion of lunch, Dylan was relaxed, warm and happy, the exertion of gathering the wood forgotten in the wonderful taste of one of the best meals Dylan had ever had!

By the time everyone had finished lunch, a friendly drowsiness went around the group near the fire, and it was clear to everyone than an early afternoon nap would be the next thing on a very relaxed agenda.

“You want me to erect a stockade, Cici?” Shibu asked with an easy yawn. His question recalled another bit of camping work that any Ranger considered no more complex than stringing a longbow.

“Up so high, and with both of us here?” Cici replied “Spare yourself the work, my sweet Sea Dragon.” Cici answered fast.  
“Shibu?” Cici said a bit more quietly, keeping the quiet conversation between themselves.

“Yeah, Sis?”

“You did very well, Shibu. I'm very proud of you. Dylan needed something in his life, and you've helped him find it. You are truly amazing, Little brother. Thank you from the Rangers and for being such a good friend to Dylan.”

Shibu blushed the cutest tone of strawberry red Cici had ever seen as she kissed Shibu on his nose, before both of them finished cleaning up the dishes, and making sure everything was ready for cooking the dinner to come.

When they were finished, Shibu and Cici decided to share a blanket for the duration of a short nap. Both Shibu and Cici slept like Rangers now,trained to a point of self-discipline where each would wake every other hour in order to alternate watches. Both of them understood that if there was to be meat for tonight's supper, their next adventure would be a late afternoon hunting trip together as Felice and Dylan slept in.

Napping with Shibu was wonderful, warm and dreamy. Two hours went by as quickly as Cici could blink. But instinct was a cruel taskmaster, and Cici snapped wide awake, and in getting up as silently as a Ranger knew how, Cici was making her best effort not to wake Shibu in the bargain.  
Cici's admiration for Shibu's skills had doubled every hour they had spent together. Cra's teaching said that only two in every one thousand people not of Cra blood were born to be Rangers. Her initial elation for Shibu's skills had slowly evolved over time. Shibu was not only her little brother, but she saw him thru Cra Eyes as being one of those rare and wonderful to whom Cra also had granted the gifts of the bow. Every time Cici looked at Shibu, something rose inside her. 

It was a pure and feral instinct that only a hunter could understand.  
Shelter and Protect. It was exactly the same way Cici felt about Felice.

Even now, in this quiet and gentle moment, Cici used all of her Ranger skills in trying to slip silently out of their camp, so she could go hunting alone. 

Cici was not vain glorying, nor selfish. But she Knew Shibu almost better than Shibu knew himself. For all his amazing skill with the bow, The hunt was the one aspect of life with a bow that Shibu had not taken up with the same gusto as everything else he was taught.

Shibu had met and exceeded every test to be an accredited hunter. It was a test that went fingers-in-glove with the other duties of being a Ranger. But Cici had both seen and felt how taking life, and the outflow of blood had bothered Shibu in a way that made the intelligent dark-haired boy shrink away, and become sullen and silent beneath a pall of regret and sorrow. Shibu was a true Pure heart, and the pain he felt in taking even the smallest of the forest creatures, even if it was to feed himself was like asking Shibu to harm a friend, or member of his own family. 

But now, in this special place that Shibu felt so close to, Cici would not ask Shibu to tarnish the memory of these days with even a single drop of blood.  
Let him rest, and waken to feel the pure, clean energy of this place, and add even more of it to his own life's flow. Big Sister was here, and she would tend to the hunting and the blood, to spare her unique brother the harm, the blood, and the violence that never had been a part of him. She was glad for Shibu, and proud of him in the same turn. For Cici knew the Covenant of Cra just as well as most of the Ranger Elders. Their goddess had sworn that for those of the purest heart were preserved the purest expression of life and peace with the bow.

As Cici stepped away from where her family and friends slept, warm and well beneath their soft blankets, Cici took a moment to look back at the gentle softness of the afternoon light that spilled over tree and leaf to cast dappled reflections on Shibu's sleeping continence. 

In that moment, Cici envisioned Shibu as the most perfect Ranger she could imagine. If keeping Shibu from blood and sorrow would earn her little brother Cra's full blessing, Cici was ready to bear any burden in life to gain Shibu the ultimate reward for being true to his pure heart.

Cici slid along the top of the ridge like the dappled afternoon sunlight on the leaves of the trees. In the face of the danger she could sense, she brought all her skills to a fine edge. She had managed to fill her game bag in less than half an hour. It was how she did it that brought the Ranger in her to the fore.

Less than fifty yards down the line of the ridge, Cici came upon a truly terrible sight.

A small doe, and an even smaller faun, dead from arrow wounds, and half butchered in one of the most clumsy and awful effusions of blood that Cici had ever seen!

As sick at the heart and the stomach as Cici was, the find also put her on point for battle. Shibu had been over this ground two hours before. He would have seen the carnage, and smelled it. Cici thanked Cra for sparing Shibu what would have been a major trauma inflicted on her pure-hearted little brother.

But Cici had seen this type of thing since her childhood, as part of the uncompromising education as a Cra and as a Ranger.

This waste and horror came from only one source.

This was poaching. It was murder, destruction and desecration at its most terrible and wanton. It was the single crime that no Ranger anywhere could forgive, or leave unpunished.

Cici had to steel herself to search for and claim evidence from the sacrilege painted in terrible red before her shocked eyes. Under The Law of the Rangers, she could take no meat or hide, and no useful parts from the slaughtered animals. But to find those guilty of the crime, Cici could take evidence. She found a leg bone from the doe. It had been split before the animal died, by a rough flint and glass arrowhead made to inflict pain rather than swift and merciful death for game animals.

Cici wept softly as she wrapped the bone fragment studded with glass in a unique fold of leather and tied it with a thin cord, to keep it apart from the honest meat in her own bag. It took Cici another quarter of an hour to gather and bury the remains, covering them with leaf fall and rocky earth gathered from the top of the ridge. Once the labor was done, Cici knelt and opened herself to Cra, asking Peace for the slaughtered innocents, and then in a benediction apart, Cici asked the Goddess of the Hunt for the skill and strength to hunt down and bring the poachers to Cra's justice. She was especially gentle and careful to hide the pair of graves, because Cici also knew, all too well, what Shibu would do if he found them.

For just a moment, Cici was torn. Poachers on the ridge were a genuine danger to her family and friends. These criminals could and would kill people as quickly as animals if it meant keeping their awful crimes a dark secret.

But to leave these sick criminals to wander the land, vandalizing everything they touched was a thought no Ranger could stand.

Cici felt her tactical mind grab hold of her emotions and throttle them as surely as she wanted to throttle the poachers. Going after them alone was the very worst thing she could do, and she knew it.

She needed help. She needed strength. And she needed someone who could be single minded and relentless.

Cici needed Shibu.

Cici turned from the hidden graves, and after a last look back and thoughts of peace for the deer, she was up on her toes, racing with a faun's soft step, back toward her family and friends.

Cici cursed softly under her breath as she raced up the length of the ridge. She was too far away to use the Ranger's voice. More than anything, she wanted to send a warning to him. 

But if the poachers were between Cici and the encampment, they would be forewarned as well.

Cici's first thought, indeed her first reflex was to reach for a signal arrow. But she stopped herself when she realized that the results might just be the same.

“Oh, Shibu, Help me!”Cici begged quietly under her breath. She closed her eyes, and for one moment she could think only about Shibu.

On the crown of the ridge, Shibu felt his own Life energy pull at him, as if someone had taken his hand and pulled insistently at his arm.  
Shibu's mind was instantly clear and sharp and as his eyes opened to slits, he found himself seeing thru eyes lit with a blue color that matched the blue openings he was still learning to use.  
Instantly, that same blue energy gave him to know that Cici was no longer at his side. 

Thinking about her created a slight pull again, the same as he had felt a moment ago. But the sensation surrounding his vision directed first his eyes, and then gently turned his head in the same direction. Shibu understood. Where ever she was, Cici was in the direction of his enhanced blue vision.

Shibu didn't move quickly. But he allowed his trained reflexes and strong body to take over. Shibu grabbed his bow, and rather then jump to a standing position, Shibu rolled,from his side, onto his stomach, presenting as small a target as possible. Now his arm and hand could slip toward his quiver. Before the blanket he had been laying on was still again, Shibu was ready to fire. 

The arrow he had knocked was one of several unique shafts in his quiver. This one was a line arrow. Shibu blinked his blue visioned eyes, and his sight narrowed and sharpened. Shibu could see another concentration of the soft blue light, standing in a gully down the ridge.

Cici!

Shibu didn't shoot at or near the blue shape. Rather his eyes flashed to the tallest tree he could see down the ridge above where Cici stood. Behind the soaring arrow trailed a fine, interwoven strand of gut, a twisted thread that Shibu had designed to hold his own weight and more.

Standing down below, trying to hide, Cici was never happier to hear an arrow cut into tree bark and then the solid wood beneath it. She dared to breathe again, and hoped for the help that might be coming in the next few seconds.

For Shibu, the rest was easy. The end of the line from his bow had a steel fishing sinker cast onto and thru the end of it. It was out of Shibu's quiver and lashed around the nearest tree almost more quickly than Shibu could tie his best slip knot.

Shibu turned his bow upside down, taking hold of the limbs of the bow, and dashing quickly downhill, shifting his weight onto his arms as he lifted his feet. In the space of two steps, he was sailing into open space, and at a quick slide, headed down the ridge!

Cici could hear the line sing as Shibu slid into view, soaring like a young eagle, coming to his sister's rescue!

Above her, Shibu was counting, when he saw two thirds of his line behind him, Shibu simply let go the line, lifting his bow off of the strand, and tucking and rolling forward and down, until he landed on the thickest branch of the tree, only a few yards above Cici! 

Two blue openings appeared directly in front of Cici. In less time than it took the Cra to draw a deep breath, Shibu was Cici's shield, and it seemed to her, their mutual salvation, standing in front of her, almost in her own footprints!

“What's wrong, Sis?” Shibu asked in a Ranger's whisper so quiet that the air between the two of them barely moved. In response, Cici whispered one word. It went thru Shibu like the lightning bolt on which he had been born.

“Poachers.”

Shibu turned, absolutely silent, to face his Big Sister. It was then that Cici noticed that Shibu's eyes were lit by a vivid cyan light that Cici had seen only once before. There was more power, and strength in that light than Cici had ever dared to imagine until this moment.  
And the expression on Shibu's face that went with the strength flowing thru him blasted Cici's next breath out of her like a solid punch to the stomach.

Shibu's brows were closely knit above eyes filled with blue fire, but the expression on his gentle wide open face had changed.

Cici shivered as she saw Shibu's face seem to transform, taking on aspects of a feral animal, accented by his dark hair, brows and most of all by the copper skin that made Shibu so handsome in other moments. Now Cici could feel someone, or something else rise from the depths of Shibu's strength. Cici blinked at the transformation that came over Shibu, and in the split second of darkness, with her eyes closed, the blue energy outlined into a form Cici had never imagined she might see.

The shape of a large, powerful dragon seemed to impose itself on her vision of Shibu. And what was more, the life force flowing thru the dragon was as pure and as hot a lightning as Cici had ever seen, even on many muggy summer nights, when storms a million times bigger than she was fought a thunderous battle for the sky and the stars above her head.

“Shi-bu? Cici whispered to her little brother, not bothering in the least to hide her mixed onset of shock, worry and fear, mostly for Shibu, but also in part for herself.

Shibu made no reply. He did nothing, except to clasp her hand and in the same instant seem to charge her with an energy that swept away her fear, as Shibu spoke one word.

“Come.” Shibu whispered. His tone was so commanding that Cici's faith in Shibu caused her to obey by reflex alone.

Almost before Cici heard the word, a blue opening appeared before both of them, They stepped thru it together, and both were gone.

Before Cici could think, and even before her heart could skip a beat, She recognized the spot at which the two of them had appeared. The base of the ridge line, about a mile out of their village, and more than five hundred feet below where any danger could be lurking on the crown of the ridge, now far above them.

For just a moment, Cici expected to be sick. That had been the previous result of being taken thru one of the mysterious blue openings. But the energy flowing between herself and Shibu snuffed out that impulse like a weak candle flame.

“Cici's only pure thought was for Felice and Dylan, and words came to her mouth in an urgent whisper as the thought itself shot across her mind and heart like an arrow sped from her own bow.

“What about Felice and Dylan?”

“Wait here.” The voice was Shibu's but the tone and the power behind just these two words practically froze the Cra Ranger to the soft grass upon which she stood.

Another blue opening, and Shibu was gone from sight!

A moment later, the blue opening shifted by a yard or two away from Cici, and Shibu stepped thru once more, onto the green grass. He carried Felice's still slumbering form on his upturned palms, While Dylan was laid carefully across the shoulder of Shibu's bow arm!  
Cici had never been so relieved as she was when both Shibu set both Felice and Dylan down gently onto the grass!

Then without pause, Shibu stood up again, and another blue opening was before him.  
If Cici lived long enough to become the Elder of her people, she would never forget the expression on Shibu's face and in his blue-lit eyes, as he simply turned his head and looked directly at Cici before stepping back thru the blue circle of light.

“Do not follow.”

And then Shibu was gone once more.

Cici felt as if she had swallowed Cra's api as she dashed toward the pair of figures sprawled in the soft grass.

A moment later, she reverently put gloved hands together and whispered a benediction to Cra in thanks for both Felice and Dylan being blissfully asleep, and completely unharmed!

But just as quickly Cici's eyes darted back toward the now distant crown of the ridge, her attention drawn there by a low, thunderous rumble that seemed to gather over the ridge top, in spite of the afternoon sky being clear and bright with the cascade of afternoon colors.  
From a clear sky, Cici saw a hot yellow bolt of lightning, almost as bright as the afternoon sun strike a specific spot just below the crown of the ridge where the group had been encamped only minutes before.

Cici saw a small curl of pure white smoke rise from the spot on the treeline, but there was no dark smoke after it, nor did Cici perceive the thin red line that meant fire among the trees.  
Before she could really focus on the meaning of it all, There was a blue circle only a step or two away from the group.

Shibu stepped thru it at a pace that was slow and deliberate. It took two steps for Cici to see that Shibu carried three crumpled figures, One under each arm, and a third draped over his neck like a new and grotesque collar.

Cici only managed to get to one knee before Shibu dropped all three of them like the bags of charcoal he delivered in the afternoon.

Two Iops and a Sacrier, all dressed in typical dark garb with bits of leaves and twigs jutting out at odd angles. But their crude camouflage was ragged, chewed up and smoldering at the edges, as the green leaves and sticks would not catch fire.

Free of his burden, Shibu glanced toward Cici. This time, Shibu managed to say not a word, as he fell to his knees, and then forward onto his face, passing out completely!

Cici felt her training and Ranger instincts seize her mind once again.

After she rolled Shibu over quickly, making certain he was unhurt, Cici drew a long length of stout white cord from the pouch on her belt. In less than three minutes, the strangers were all bound hand and foot. Their wrists and ankles lashed cross ways together behind and slightly above their backs, so they had no hope of moving as Cici left them lay, trussed up like wild animals , on their bellies in the grass!

“Ci-ci?” a softer voice called out as the Ranger tied the last of her best knots.

“Stay still, Shibu. Don't you dare move so much as a finger, Little Brother!” Cici told the collapsed heap that Shibu had become.

Once Cici's hands were free, her first move was for her bow, and a pair of arrows shot skyward in an arching path that reached its zenith over the village.

Shibu could hear the first of them. A piercing whistle that no one within a mile could ignore unless they were as deaf as the rocks that made up the ridge itself. The sound brought a sharp pain to Shibu's ears, but he had never been happier to hear the Ranger's universal call for help!

The second arrow was a flare, red hot and brighter by half again than the afternoon Sun. Shibu already knew enough not to look at it directly, but the flare brought an inescapable red light to his vision, even thru tightly closed eyelids!

Less than another minute passed before Shibu's blue vision allowed him to see and sense a half dozen stout figures who seemed to appear as if by magic along the tree line some fifty yards distant from where everyone lay sprawled in the grass.

Three of the six were dragging litters behind them, and the campers and the prisoners were soon being carried back toward the village at a pace that would have taxed the speed of the local deer!

Shibu rolled over suddenly, ready to vault off the bed in near panic! He was moved to the point of tears as he found Dylan laying in the bed next to him!

“Hay, Dylan, How you doing?” Shibu whispered to his best friend quietly.

“Don't fret about me, Superstar!” Dylan answered with a cheesy grin.  
“I'm all right. I have no idea what the heck happened, but I figure since everyone is here, and they all look fine, I think they are more worried about us than we should be about them.”

“What's the last thing you remember?” Shibu asked, even more quietly.

“Eating a mess of your mom's good cooking, and laying down for a high-country nap.” Dylan replied. “Then two big guys were carrying me in here and plopping me in bed next to you. I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon, Shibu. Like bookkeeping, for instance.” Dylan reflected quietly.

“As long as you're OK, Bud.” Shibu replied with a smile. “Now I think I'll go find out what's going on.” Shibu added.

“Hay, now, don't go doing that!” Dylan replied fast. “I tried when I woke up the first time, and almost everyone here lost it completely, before they put me back in bed.”

“Everyone?” Shibu wondered quietly. “Who's that?” Shibu wondered.

“That's right, I guess you don't know, do ya?”

Shibu shook his head. “Tell me and that will make two of us.”

“Everyone who's anyone from the Village is out in your living room Shibu.” Dylan told him quickly. “Mom got called away to Emelka about a shipment, or She'd probably be out there too, crying rivers, most likely. Believe me, that's a sight you never, ever wanna see if you know what's good for ya.” Dylan reflected soberly.

Shibu risked sitting up in bed next to his best friend. When he discovered that it didn't hurt anywhere, and that he still had clothes on, Shibu's cap was set.

“This is my house too, Bud.” Shibu answered with quiet determination. “And since I don't remember doing anything wrong, I'm going to act like I live here too!”

“Hay, I'm with you Superstar.” Dylan replied. “Go on, live it up. But don't say I never warned ya!”

Shibu smiled, and clapped his best friend warmly on the back. Then he peeled back the rumpled blanket, and set his feet down, firm and steady on the floor of his own room.

“Hold onto your hat, Superstar.” Dylan said by way of one last word of caution.

Shibu opened the door to the living room, and simply stepped out, as he had done every morning he could remember.

“Hello Everyone!” Shibu said quietly and politely to what seemed like half of the village packed into his house!

“Shibu! You're awake, My darling Boy!” Felice said to him almost too softly to be heard over the rest of the people crowding his living room. Their communal reaction was a loud gasp that seemed to steal all the air from the room!

None of that stopped Felice. She zipped over to Shibu as fast as she could fly in the enclosed space, and hugged Shibu as if she were grabbing onto life itself. “Love you, Mom!” Shibu said to her in a soft whisper as Shibu returned the embrace in front of the entire crowd in his living room.

“Love you too, My Sweet Boy!”

Shibu wanted and needed that moment of stability, because in the next moment, he looked up at his friends and fellow villagers. Every last one of them, right down to the other players on Shibu's Boufball team seemed frozen in place where they stood. It was strange. But even more strange was the fact that all of them were looking at Shibu as if he had somehow come back from the dead!

For almost a full minute, while Shibu looked from familiar face to familiar face, nobody said anything to Shibu. The house was so quiet, Shibu could hear the air in the water pipes. Someone had primed the pump the wrong way again. Shibu thought to himself. But as he waited for someone to say something, Shibu sensed that the pump wasn't the only problem at his house today.

“What's the matter, Mom? Is someone hurt or something?” Shibu finally asked right out loud because the silence was beginning to scare him just a little.

No, Dear, not us.. It's you that we were all worried about.” Felice explained calmly to her son.

“Me?” Shibu said in disbelief. “Well thanks so much, everyone but I'm just fine!” Shibu told the entire room in a slightly raised voice. One that he never had to use in the house.

But Shibu's re-assurance didn't seem to have all that much effect on any of the adults in the room.

On the other hand, Shibu's pronouncement of his own well-being brought a cheer and a headlong rush from the other members of Shibu's Boufball team, and the three of them pushed thru the crowd and gang tackled Shibu, as if to stop him from scoring another goal! Shibu was visibly delighted, and as his three teammates helped him to stand up again, Shibu caught sight once more of the adults in the room still standing still as if the people he had known all his life were nothing but carved statues. 

About that time, Aris elbowed his way to the front of the crowd of people and stood next to Felice.

“I'm so glad you're not hurt, Shibu.” The village elder began. “Now just take it real slow, and try to tell us what happened, my lad.”

Shibu stood still for a moment, trying to puzzle things out, and not knowing where exactly to begin, or what to say.

“Here, you fellows!” Aris indicated to a group of the older miners sitting around Shibu's own breakfast table. “Give the lad a chair, and let him be comfortable.”

The group of them had all known Shibu since the night he arrived. They stood up, so Shibu could sit down.

“I don't quite remember exactly what happened.” Shibu began.

“Ah, the poor boy must have been hit on the head!” One of the older miners decided. “You tell me which one of those poachers laid hands on you Lad, and I'll break both his arms for him, that's a promise, by Enutrof!”

“Break all of their arms, I say!” someone else in the room said loudly. There was a general snarl of agreement before Aris held up his hand again for quiet.

“Let Shibu have his say, all of you.” the village elder intoned. The room was quiet again and Shibu tried to gather his thoughts.

“We were on the top of the ridge, camping out, right near the top.” Shibu began slowly.

“All Right, Shibu. You've done nothing wrong my boy.” Aris told him sympathetically. “But just now, you're the only one who can tell us what happened.” Aris went on.

“Mom where's Cici? She could tell this better than I could.” Shibu asked glancing in his mother's direction.

“She's gone to Bonta, Dearest. To bring back a squad of Cra Rangers to take those evil poachers away. She should be back tonight, we hope.” Felice answered, “Just take it slowly, Shibu and tell us what happened, one thing at a time sweetheart.”

Shibu nodded, then he took a slow deep breath. “Cici woke me up. We were napping after lunch, remember Mom?” Shibu asked.

“That's right, Dear. Go on.” Felice encouraged. 

“Cici told me that there were poachers on the ridge. We were both worried about them finding our camp.” Shibu related. “We were just trying to figure out where they might be, and how to get My Mom and Dylan down safely.”

“Stout lad!” Someone in the room said. “Why isn't Shibu a full Ranger yet?”

“With what he did, he ought to be!” Said a voice Shibu could recognize, but whose owner he could not see. After a moment, the owner of the voice stepped forward. Jacob, the Ferrier was still holding his working hammers, and it made his tall, muscular figure even more imposing.

“I know Shibu very well.” The blacksmith began. “And I believe he did what Cici said he did.”

Shibu went dead cold, from the top of his head, to the tips of his toes.

“How would any of us react if we saw someone we know being attacked?” The blacksmith asked his fellow villagers. “Shibu did what any one would do. He fought back. All of us should be one half as brave as Shibu proved himself to be.”

There was a rising murmur of agreement from among the people gathered in the room.

Shibu felt his body relax, and a warm rush replaced the awful cold feeling that had raced thru him like all the winters he had ever felt.

“Mom, is Cici all Right?” Shibu interrupted to ask urgently.

“She's fine Dearest. You saved her.” Felice said directly. “Don't you remember, sweetheart?”

“Not all together, no.” Shibu answered honestly.

“I see it now.” Aris cut in sharply.” Shibu here has been thru a lot. Maybe more than some of us could take.” He began slowly. “He needs a long rest, to let him catch up with himself. We know all we need to know, for now.” The Village Elder told his people.

“Those poachers should hang.” Someone in the room growled ominously.

“Not to worry, my friends.” Aris pronounced. “The King of Bonta is known far and wide for his dislike of poachers. By the Time King Louis is done with them, these three worthless bums will be begging to let Shibu beat them up s'more.”

“Thank you, My Friends, for your concern and caring about Our Shibu.” Felice said at last. “But for now, Our Boy needs his rest, and As Your Healer, and his Mother, That's what I prescribe.”

“Okay, everyone. You Heard Felice.” Aris said in a kindly but firm tone. “Everyone go home for now. We'll know more when Cici herself returns along with the Fletch of Rangers from the Cra City.” Aris told the Villagers. “Felice and Shibu will get everything they need, All Right?”

“We'll see to that, Right Enough, Aris.” The ferrier said in a self-assured voice. “They will never want for anything while I can still swing a hammer. Shibu is a fellow Smith, and we look after our own.”

“Thank you, one and all. That's the true spirit of our village!” Aris replied as everyone, including the Village Elder, made their way slowly to and thru the slightly rounded portal that was Felice's front door.

In a few minutes time, Felice was finally able to close her door, and be alone with her son again.

Shibu started to say something, but before he could make a sound, Felice put a gentle finger to her lips, as she fluttered back across her living room, and toward Shibu's bedroom door.

Quietly, she opened the door just enough to allow Shibu to catch sight of Dylan, curled up comfortably on Shibu's bed, sleeping soundly, and oblivious to all that had gone on in the last hour.

Shibu smiled warmly at the sight, nodded to his Mother and fell silent. Shibu simply Ranger walked over to one of the overstuffed chairs he loved so much, picked up a favorite book from the shelves he knew so well,and began to read, seeming as contented and as happy as ever.

But the need to stand guard over the family secrets didn't ever stop Felice from being Shibu's mother. As Shibu turned the page in the book as big as himself, Shibu found his mom floating no more than the thickness of the book cover from his nose, a proud light in her eyes, and a loving smile on her lips. She came closer yet to Shibu, to whisper tenderly into his ear.

“You saved us all, my Darling Sea Dragon. I bless the night that you came to us, my Dearest Darling Boy.” Felice told Shibu tenderly. “That's all I'll ever need to know about what happened. I love you so much, my handsome hero!”

Felice kissed Shibu playfully on his nose, and then floated into the kitchen,as proud as any Mother could be, to make her boy his favorite snack.

Cici caught her breath in the moment that the arrow of Recall brought her back home. Master Chang's eye was still keen, and his aim impeccable in spite of the Sage's advancing years. As Cici took a moment to breathe the air of home once again, she fought down the impulse to race home as fast as she could run. There was duty to do before any personal consideration. Before she could finish counting to ten,that number of Rangers appeared around her in a close circle.

“Major, take seven men, and go to the Home of the Village Elder. You will find the three prisoners locked in his root cellar. If they are not already bound and gagged, make them so, and then make a fast transit by Arrow back to Bonta Castle with the prisoners.”

“At your Command, Cici!” The ranking member of the Fletch of Rangers answered smartly.

“You three, on me. Our target is my home, Battle March, now!”

“Yes, Ma'am, at your Command!” The trio of Rangers answered as they moved to surround and secure Cici in a triangle of bows and knocked arrows that swept over the grass of the Village Green as fast as Rangers could move. 

The Point Ranger in the triangle moved aside slightly, and let Cici walk ahead by a step as the group crossed from the grass onto the porch of the house. Cici opened the door, and as softly as a kitten, slid into her home as if she were made of nothing but her shadow.

Cici's first thought was of her fellow Ranger.

Cici could already sense Shibu, and she knew instantly where he was. She slid over to his bedroom door and opened it it one quick, smooth motion that was also completely silent.

“Shibu?” Cici asked in a Ranger's voice, knowing there could only be one other voice at home who would answer in the same way.

“Here, Cici, Welcome Home Sis!” 

Cici turned three-quarters of the way around, at the sound of a match striking, and the room filling with a flood of light from one of the large white candles which usually lit up the Potion workroom.

Shibu's gentle expression and his clear vivid blue eyes, half illuminated in bright candle light became the most beautiful thing Cici had ever seen right up to that moment when Cici saw Shibu smile gently at her, too.

Cici vaulted straight for him, as true as a cloth yard shaft shot from her own bow. In an instant Shibu was in her arms, and for the first time in many tense hours, something inside the young Cra finally whispered that everything was all right again, and that things would stay that way!

“Hello, Shibu! Cici whispered to him after kissing his nose, cheekbones and forehead! “Is everything all secure here?”

“Yep-Yep!” Shibu said in his own soft whisper. “Mom had a long day, and had to rest. Dylan is spending the night in my bed, and I decided to take first watch, and wait for you and the Rangers.”

Cici cuddle hugged Shibu before seating him back in the overstuffed chair with his favorite book, lit for him by a dark lantern.

“By your leave, Cici, the three of us will keep watch on your front and back door until the Prisoners have been transported from the Village to Bonta, via arrow of recall.”

“Very Good Commander, post your men, and thank you very much, from me and My family, Personally.” Cici replied.

“Always a pleasure for one of our own, Ma'am!” The ranking Cra officer replied with a confident smile. Cici was even more impressed as the Commander broke eye contact with her only long enough to look in the direction of the overstuffed chair in the corner, where Shibu and the Commander exchanged the typical Ranger greeting. The bow fingers on the right hand swept slightly forward and down and then back slightly so the other person could see them. The gesture was symbolic of an arrow being drawn by one Ranger, to insure the safety of another. Shibu warmed to it instantly, as it was the first thing Cici had ever taught Shibu about the Rangers.

Cici was so overjoyed to be home that she simply folded her legs, and dropped gently to the carpeted floor of her living room sitting cross legged and completely at ease. As her front door closed and locked from both inside and outside, Cici was so happy to be home that she wanted to cry. But, as usual, Shibu had another, better idea for this special moment for both of them.

Almost before the candle flame could flicker twice, Shibu flounced gently out of the overstuffed chair, leaving his favorite book behind gently, to rest on the thickly cushioned seat. Shibu popped thru the air like a small cork, and landed exactly in Cici's lap!  
Cici enfolded Shibu in her long, svelte arms, knowing that Shibu enjoyed their shared sensation of warm and constant strength.

“Love you Sis!” Shibu whispered softly to her.

“Love you too, Shibu, My Handsome Hero.” Cici almost purred as she held Shibu close to her, finding security and solace in his strength too, even as the dark lantern burned low, far into the night, and on toward the dawn.

When Shibu woke, he was still wrapped in Cici's warm, strong arms.

“Good Morning, Sweet Sea Dragon.” Cici whispered to Shibu in a Ranger voice that no one else could hear.

“Cici?” Shibu whispered in surprise. “Didn't you get to sleep?” Shibu asked. 

“Sure I did, Love.” Cici replied. “I slept right here, with you.”

“But-” Shibu said shortly.

“Don't worry, Shibu. I have one Ranger in the front, one in the back, and one watching.” Cici told Shibu quietly.

“The Triangle.” Shibu replied softly. 

“That's right, Ranger.” Cici answered.

Shibu made a good try at standing up. “I should grab my bow and help them.” Shibu told Cici.

“Cici tightened her loving grasp on Shibu, lightly but insistently. 

“Don't you move, and consider that a direct order, Ranger Shibu.” Cici commanded. “Consider yourself a fighting reserve, posted right here.”

“I still need my bow, Sis.” Shibu insisted firmly.

Cici sighed softly. Shibu was right. His bow had saved both of them yesterday. And Shibu was a Ranger too. Cici instantly imagined the state she would be in if she was without her bow.

“Where's your Bow, Shibu?”

“In the corner, behind the big chair,underneath my bookshelf.” Shibu replied fast.

“Don't move, Superstar, I'll get it for you.” a third voice cut into the conversation.

“Hay! G'morning, Dylan!”

“You two are just too good looking together.” Dylan remarked casually as he slipped into a sidestep near the overstuffed chair. In just a moment, Shibu's bow was across Dylan's shoulder, and Shibu's quiver across his opposite shoulder.

Dylan slid out from behind the chair. Dylan's appearance brought a warm and genuine smile to Shibu's face.

“Hay Big D, on you, that looks good!” Shibu said brightly.

“Ya think so, Superstar?”

“I know so!” Shibu answered as Dylan slipped Shibu's bow and quiver into the hands of a capable archer with a cheesy grin.

“I'll get mine soon enough, Superstar. Right now, You need these more than I need or want to look good.” Dylan replied.

The Ecaflip's attitude brought a smile to Cici's face. “You've taught Dylan well, Shibu. Both of you are making the right sounds, and I don't mean bird calls.” Cici told both friends.

“Hay, Cici, we have a tactical advantage. Both of us understand that Shibu is amazing!”

Still nestled in Cici's arms, Shibu cracked up!

“Yeah!” Cici teased lightly. “Watch how amazingly he blushes, Dylan!”

Dylan joined the fun, getting down on his knees, so he could look directly into Shibu's bronzed face, that was slowly edging with a vivid red!

“Yep, he's amazing all right.” Dylan said off-handedly. “I wonder how much more amazing he would be if, just for the sake of argument, someone was, say, tickling him, for example?”

Shibu let out a slightly sharp, bird-like sound that sounded like a startled Piwi, followed by the loudest hiccup that Dylan had ever heard!

Dylan didn't hesitate. He sank both hands deep into Shibu's ribs, and tickled his best friend ferociously!

Even with Cici holding him close, Shibu made a game try at recoiling straight up, and threatening to go thru the roof of his own house! 

“No escape, Shibu!” Cici cracked. “Let's see how well you stand up under “enemy torture.” As Cici pinned her brother down for Dylan's benefit. 

“Now I gotcha, Superstar!” Dylan said almost laughing as hard as Shibu himself!

Dylan poured it on Shibu, knowing exactly where his best friend was most ticklish, and sparing no spot he could reach with a melting, fast touch!

But even pinned down as he was, Shibu had more resistance than either Cici or Dylan expected.

Cici found herself using nearly all of the strength in her arms while trying to hold Shibu still as his body bucked and twisted, tying to avoid Dylan's touch.

My Stars, Shibu..” Cici found herself panting. “You are much stronger than I thought, and I live with you!” Cici said without bothering to hide her outright shock!

“Oh, so Superstar here is holding out on all of us, Huh?” Dylan wanted to know. “Just for that, I can get really serious!”

This time, Dylan moved in and got right on top of Shibu and went after Shibu's firm bronze tummy!

But this time, Shibu had learned. He relaxed, going almost as lip as a pot of boiled noodles! Dylan was laughing, Cici was laughing, and most of all Shibu was nearly purple with laughter! Dylan turned his tickling pounce into a deep hug, as Dylan joined Cici in just being close to Shibu!

For his part, Shibu melted like warm candle wax, taking Dylan and Cici into a hug of his own!

“I love you guys so much..” Shibu whispered to both of them in a gentle whisper.

“Right back to you, Shibu. Dylan replied. You're my brother in every way but blood, and for that, we have Boufball.” Dylan told Shibu seriously. 

“Dylan, our door and my heart is always unlocked. If you need to get away, for a minute, a day, or whenever, get your lucky tail right in here.” Shibu told his brother.

“Now that's Our Sea Dragon!” Cici said approvingly. “If Felice was here, she'd kiss you both.” Cici told both boys. “But since she's on the grand meadow,filling an order for some herbs, I'll just have to do it for her!”

Cici was as good as her word, and when it came to kissing Dylan, Cici emulated the Ecaflip mark of affection by nipping Dylan's ear playfully as she took him into her arms where Shibu had been a moment before!

“Hay, Dylan. I know your Mom is a pretty tough nut, but now, you have us, and you also have the Rangers. Don't forget, OK, and remember. Asking for help is strength, not weakness, All right?”

“Right, Commander Cici!” Dylan said brightly as he shared a Ranger salute with Cici and Shibu.

“Dylan,You there, my sweetie pie?”

Shibu had an uncomfortably close view as his best friend's face almost literally fell thru the floor. Cici winced in a sympathetic and very visual expression of regret.

“Yes, Mother.” Dylan called back, his lack of enthusiasm audible in his voice.

“Come along, Dear. I need you at home.” Cassandra called out from the porch.

The richest person in the village didn't bother coming into the house, but rather she stood at the very edge of the threshold, and bent at the waist, bringing her voice as close to the house, while not going inside.

“I'll be home in a while, Mother.” Dylan called in reply, trying to hold his temper.

“Come ahead, Dear. I need your head for numbers. The books just won't balance themselves.”

“Yes, Mother.” Dylan said, in a completely defeated tone of voice.

“I'm so sorry, Shibu.” Dylan whispered to his best friend. “I'd rather be here than anyplace in Bonta right now.” Dylan confessed quietly and freely.

Then, Shibu glanced at Cici. Her green eyes were burning torches of the purest anger that Shibu had ever seen from his easygoing but deeply serious sister.

“Dylan is helping me move some dry stores, Cassie.” I'll send him home in a few minutes, if that's all right with you.” Cici lied outright.

“Very well, My Dear.” Cassandra shot back, sounding tired. “As long as he is making himself useful, and not getting underfoot.” Cassandra added.

“He'll be along in a moment or two, I promise.” Cici called back enforcing a cheerful tone in her voice. “I'll walk him home myself.”

“Very well Cici. As a favor to you and Felice.”

Cici's Ranger trained ears let her hear the scuffing sound of Cassandra's slipper shod feet on the soft grass just at the edge of her own porch.

“You boys, stay here, and just please be yourselves.” Cici whispered to Dylan and Shibu. “I have an arrow to send, and I want both of you here when I do.” Cici told both of them in the tone of a direct order, which both Rangers obeyed by reflex.

Cici listened for a moment, to be sure Cassandra was blissfully gone.

Once Cici was certain her home was hers again, she strode out onto her porch, less than a yard from where Cassandra had stood to holler into her home.

She swept her bow from her back by pure, muscular reflex, and from her quiver came a unique arrow which only the Commander of the Rangers was permitted to carry.

Cici had only fired one other Rally Arrow in her lifetime. As soon as Cici knocked the clear shaft, the arrow seemed to take on the color of the dawn light which still lingered in the morning sky. The arrow soared away from her bow, and the sky was instantly populated by a new star, as if Cici herself had used a part of her own being to illuminate the new and lasting light in the sky. 

“Shibu, Dylan, I need you!” Cici called clearly, in a firm voice that expressed itself in a commanding call that was both as tranquil as the morning, but as bright as the new star.

Both boys came out of the house at a quick Ranger walk and stood at Cici's side.

Cici smiled warmly at both of them, tipping both of them the Ranger salute.

“Boys” Cici told both of them. “Prepare to be truly impressed.”

From the point in the sky where the new star sparkled, a single ray of light that shimmered like the sunrise came back from the star in the sky, to linger for a moment as a sphere of light which glistened as if it were formed of the purest crystal. The orb itself expanded like one of the blue openings that Shibu had not quite mastered, and then after the span of a single breath, the sphere expanded, but at the same moment began to fade.

When it was gone from sight, in the same place was the figure of another Archer. One whom Shibu had seen engraved on the illuminated pages of his favorite history books!

“My Stars!” Shibu whispered, completely awestruck by she who had come into their company. Shibu kept his place, and his stance, but dropped his eyes. Next to him, Dylan dropped his chin to his chest, and was still.

Shibu could remember only one other time he had seen Cici bow to anyone. As the Cra Ranger did so, Cici not only fell to one knee, but also cupped her bow hand and moved it to rest over her heart before she spoke.

“Clear skies to Cra's Child, Matilda, Queen of the Cra Nation.” Cici said in a voice both gentle and strong.

“Clear Skies to Ranger Cici, Elected leader of Cra's Rangers.” Matilda answered with a gentle smile. “I see I am know by another of your company, my Dear.” Matilda added.

For one of the only times Shibu could remember, nothing he had ever read gave him to know what to say or to do.

Matilda smiled gently at Shibu. “Never fear, Shibu, Son of Felice, and Brother to Our Own Cici. You are well seen by the Brothers and Sisters of our serene Mother.” Matilda told Shibu in a grand and gentle voice.

“Thank you, Queen Matilda.” Shibu replied with respectful simplicity.” May I ask something of the Grandest of all Cra's Children?” Shibu asked in the same tone.

“Raise your eyes to us, Ranger Shibu. Brother and sisters ought not be apart, and ask what you will of us.” Matilda replied.

“I ask Nothing for myself, because I am Ranger, which is all I have ever wished to be.” Shibu explained. “That which I ask of you is for my friend of truest heart.”

“Then Raise your eyes to us, Dylan Trueheart. And hear the wish of your brother Ranger.” Matilda replied.

Dylan complied, tears of happiness in his eyes.

“My Brother Dylan would become a Ranger, for His heart follows my own example.” Shibu Explained. “I ask your most gentle indulgence that he be inducted into our number. He seeks to work, and to train with Cici and myself.” Shibu explained modestly.

“It is for this reason that We have requested Cici to allow us to meet both of you.” Matilda explained.

“You wished to meet with us, Grand Lady?” Shibu asked in surprise.

“Aye, Ranger Shibu.” Matilda replied. “For you are owed something, by reason of the loyalty and fidelity you have lived before the whole of the Cra people, and within the true sight of our serene Mother.”

“Grand Lady, Queen Matilda.” Shibu replied. “ I am Ranger, in Honor of Great Cra, and by reason of the steadfast love of my Sister Cici. I seek nothing more than this, for I hold in this heart all that I desire to have.” Shibu replied.

“Ah, our Shibu. You who know Cra thru your keen mind and into your own heart, you know most well that Cra repay their debts, do you not, Oh Blue Ranger?” Matilda asked.

“I do, My Grand Lady.” Shibu replied with simple forthrightness. 

“Then, will you and yours consent to travel a short way in our company, Please?” Matilda asked Shibu gently.

“Anywhere, and at any time. Great Lady. For in your name, I am Ranger.” Shibu responded as tradition demanded.

“Very well. In the name of our Serene Mother, I make it so!” Matilda ordered.

The sphere of light returned, as clear and bright as before, in their midst, and the space around the group was transposed, along with their location.

Shibu's eyes phased into a cyan light as Queen Matilda, Cici, Dylan and himself found themselves standing in the middle of their former camp sight on the crown of the ridge!

It was then that Queen Matilda glanced at the assembled group before her.  
“One of our Sisters is missing from this company,” The Monarch of the Cra said with a serious tone. “We shall act to make all right and well before we proceed.” 

Everyone in the group watched as Matilda struck a classic archer's pose. The Bow which became solid in her hands began as a pure streak of the most beautiful purple light Shibu could ever imagine. The light was as brilliant as a perfect amethyst, and it transposed into the shape of an ancient Great Bow that seemed to be formed and shaped from entire tree limbs, bent back upon themselves into a recurve form. The bowstring shimmered gold and the bead on the string was a single pearl the size of a Piwi egg!

From the Bow of Cra, Matilda, her daughter, loosed an arrow which was formed of light, as the bow became corporeal. It was as if the Queen of the Cra Nation had plucked a sunbeam from the dawn sky, and used it as ammunition for her bow!   
Matilda's arrow sped away, over the horizon as fast as light itself could go.  
Before the gathered onlookers could draw a single breath, the arrow reappeared, manifesting itself on a flat spot only a yard distant among the flat rocks of the ridge.  
But this time, there was a circle of bright yellow light around a passenger whom Shibu could instantly recognize while her shape was only a bright outline.

“Mom!” Shibu called out in a bright and excited voice!

In just a moment longer Felice was standing between Cici and Shibu as if the Enripsa healer had been with the group all along!

“My stars! Felice interjected. “If those arrows are not the very last word in travel, I do not know what else could be their equal! Felice observed, brushing herself off lightly, so as to prevent her spring dress from looking unkempt.

When Felice looked around, and saw Shibu and Cici, her dress became the least significant thought in her mind!

Matilda said not a word as Shibu and Cici pinned Felice between them in a loving embrace of homecoming.

“Greetings Felice Silverwood, of the Clan whose name lives forever in the mind and heart of Cra and all of her children,” Matilda said once the trio stood side-by side again.

“Greetings and Clear Skies, to Queen Matilda, To Cra and all of her Sons and Daughters.” Felice replied formally. “I hope you and yours are well, Matilda Dearest. We have been almost too long parted.”

“Indeed, Sister Felice.” Matilda replied. “We evoked your recall from your labors that you might be a part and a witness to the events brought about by your son and daughter. “Have no fear, there has been no wrong done, in fact, quite the opposite has been made true by reason of your family.”

“My Family is my hope and my life, Queen Matilda.” Felice answered. “I know that where ever they are, that is the place I most belong.”

“Now, that is so, and all set to Right.” Queen Matilda replied.

“Hear you now with joyous and alert ears what has been brought about by those you love.”

So saying to the entire group, Queen Matilda's regal gaze fell with gentle light upon Shibu, The queen of The Cra Nation smiled gently at him,and then she spoke as much to the small gathering as to Shibu himself.

“It was here, Ranger Shibu, that you placed the safety of innocents above your own.” Matilda pronounced. “And as a Ranger, you did prove, according to the creed written upon your heart that the way of the Ranger was your own to live, and to believe.”

Standing next to Shibu, Dylan dropped a hand to Shibu's shoulder, and smiled, not able to say anything, but not needing to do so, as the tears in his eyes spoke more clearly about what was in his heart than his voice ever could.

“Ranger Shibu, to honor your fidelity, and your valiant heart, Serene Cra bears you a gift. Look, now, with your Pure Blue Sight, and see the resolution of your innermost quest.”

A soft gust of wind rose off the crown of the ridge, sending a silvery whisper among the trees that carpeted the ridge. As it rolled away, toward the lea side of the rocky crest, The group saw and felt another presence join their group in the place where the campsite stood.

The White Stag, In all his majestic power, flanked by a pair of does and a faun, stood less than an arm's length from the entire group!

Shibu smiled, and then, he went gently up on his toes, and Ranger walked toward the stately stag!

Dylan gasped when he saw the stag's deep Golden Brown eyes hold Shibu in their gaze.

“Careful, Shibu!” Dylan called out to his best friend in a soft whisper.

Shibu moved only his arm, extending his slightly cupped palm, and not the flat of his hand, toward the white stag as the boy with the blue eyes dared another step forward.

The white stag exhaled gently, and a soft brush of warm air crossed the fingers of Shibu's bow hand.

One of the two white does took her own step forward, leading her faun, as the mother deer leaned gently into Shibu's legs, resting her head for a moment on Shibu's midsection.

The white stag stood up, and with one step, closed the remainder of the distance between himself and Shibu, allowing Shibu's outstretched hand to pass close to the White Stag's short, black-tipped nose,and for just an instant to touch upon and feel the solid density of the Stag's powerful neck. Then, the white stag lowered his head gently toward Shibu, bringing one small point on his massive rack of antlers to within an inch of Shibu's nose!

Shibu never stirred, nor did he show any sign of fear. Shibu withdrew his hand slowly, and with his fingertip, he touched the point of the white antlers with the same caring and gentle touch he had shared with so many of the forest creatures.

Shibu was as surprised as anyone in the group as the entire point of antler, as long as Shibu's palm, dropped easily into Shibu's hand!

Shibu looked up at the White Stag with his clear blue eyes, and quietly whispered “Thank you.” to the Stag, whose golden eyes never left Shibu as the Stag's head rose again.

Shibu reached down, and gently caressed the doe close to him, and was rewarded by one of the fauns with a soft tongue lick to the back of his draw hand. Shibu smiled at both mother and faun as he took a gentle and silent half step back from the family of four.

Shibu knew better than to turn his back, so he receded by soft and silent quarter steps, backing away slowly until he stood once again at the side of Queen Matilda.

The queen's approval of Shibu's conduct radiated in the gentle smile and nod she shared with him as Shibu rejoined the group.

When Shibu looked away from the Queen, to where the White Stag was standing, Shibu saw only a soft, pure white shimmer, of the sort that came with sunlight reflected from the canopy of trees, and when the shimmer was gone, nothing remained except the natural trees and rocks that had been there since the beginning of time itself.

“The audience is ended.” Queen Matilda pronounced with a solemn tone.”Our Cousin and Protector finds favor in you, Ranger Shibu.”

“Your Majesty?” Shibu inquired gently.

“Yes, Ranger Shibu?” Matilda answered softly.

“This belongs to The Rangers, Not to me. Please take it in trust for all of us.” Shibu asked quietly.

“It does indeed belong to Our Rangers, Shibu, of the Clear Blue Eyes.” Queen Matilda answered. “But I can think of no one better suited to safeguard the Talisman of the White Stag than yourself, and your family.”

“We are humbled, Queen Matilda, and ever prepared to Serve, Your Highness.” Cici answered at once, dropping to one knee as she spoke.

“Arise daughter mine, and know you well that your own part in this wonder shall not be forgotten nor unrewarded. For we also saw your gentle service to the fallen innocents who stood with the White Stag. Henceforth, we add to your name the Title of Cecilia Whitestag, and the Office of Warden to this High place, whereupon the White Stag walks.”

“You are most gracious, My Queen.” Cici replied.

“You have in your circle, two very fine and gifted Rangers-to-be, My Daughter. Lift them both up, as you have lifted your brother, who is one of the pair in your circle. Train both well, that in the fullness of time, both Rangers Shibu and Dylan may take up the Office and the Duties of Warden, in their turn.”

“You are indeed Sage wise, and most farsighted, my Queen.” Cici responded.

“Now that Justice has been done, and the Right be served, let us go down from this place, for We have yet one more matter to accomplish this day.”

After Queen Matilda was finished, the bright sphere of light which all in the party had seen before, encompassed all of them and with the speed of that very same light, the Party stood all together once more in the living room of Shibu's home!

“Ranger Dylan, attend us, if you please.” Queen Matilda told Shibu's best friend. As She spoke, Matilda extended a gloved hand to Dylan.

Dylan accepted at once, without any hint of hesitation!

“Now, conduct us to your home, please. And there, I shall share news of this event with your household, and also share words with your own Mother.” Queen Matilda related to Dylan, whose only response was a very broad smile.

As the two of them left Shibu's home, Queen Matilda glanced back, over her shoulder at the remainder of the group. “We shall return presently, and before We leave your company, we shall break bread together, and have drink as well, until all here are well satisfied.”

“As you desire, Your Majesty!” Cici answered as Matilda and Dylan strolled casually toward his house, as if they had not a care in the world between them!

After they were well away, Shibu turned to his sister, sporting an impish grin!

“What's up, Little Brother?” Cici inquired, her voice dropping instinctively to a Ranger Whisper.

“Queen Matilda, and Dame Cassandra.” Shibu replied. “Now that's a meeting of a lifetime, One I wish I could overhear, if not see for myself!”

“Sir Shibu! You little-” But in the midst of her reprimand, Cici Whitestag felt the same idea cross her mind!

Shibu saw His Sister's green eyes light up with a bright and mischievous twinkle! 

“Well” Cici reflected after a moment of silent reflection. “I am supposed to be training you.” Cici replied.

“Stealth Practice?” Shibu ventured, the smile on his face not changing in the least.

“Grab your Bow, and Let's go, Little Brother!” Cici replied as she made a Ranger's stride toward the front door, with Shibu only a step behind her.


	9. Wayfarer

One day not long after, a new figure guided by a dray team of Gobballs meandered down the little used path which parted the dense forest beyond the woods, not far from the village itself.

The master of the team was handy with a whip, which kept the two unruly white balls of wool that pulled the wagon working together as a team. His shouts to them were surly and short tempered, bringing attention to the thickset stout-boned Ouginak on the driver's bench of a medium-sized wagon.

He continued to follow the mostly circular path that seasons of time and many sets of paws and feet had worn around the circumference of the village. Only when he drew near to the center of the village did the wagon master and his team halt their curt and noisy procession.  
The canine in charge betrayed no fear of anyone being so foolish as to attempt to steal his wagon. First, because his Gobballs had a truly mean temper, and second, because he retained his whip as he dismounted. Anyone running afoul of him might almost certainly wish to be fed to the Gobballs instead of facing his whip.

The driver cast narrow, beady eyes around the center of the village, as most of the inhabitants went about their work. Many of them were thinking about food instead, as it was close to midday.  
The village itself was small enough to allow most of the artisans and workers to go home for lunch, that is if they did not already work in another part of their own homes in the first place.

So a fairly good number of the villagers fell under the unkind eyes of the wagon driver as the formidable figure made his way to one of the largest buildings in the village. It was the building which both instinct and his nose told him was the village inn.

It seemed almost to be some sort of unwritten law, and one that held within this village as well. The inn was the unique purview of an Enutrof adventurer. The retired explorer managed to see a Kama or two, while taking care of a small but steady influx of travelers, who found the village different and far more attractive in many ways that another stopover in a crowded, mostly dirty, and sometimes dangerous city further along the road.

As he stopped in the doorway, filling up the width of most of the double arch, the canine teamster didn't care much of anything at all about the atmosphere, nor it seemed, the peaceful nature of the village around the Inn.

The teamster waddled more than walked into the wide open main room, set with the bar along one wall, and a half a dozen tables and chairs to fill out the corners of the wide room.

Quickly, and without a word of welcome or greeting, the thick canine grabbed one of the chairs, the first one to fall under the short thick fingers of his hand. He sat down in the chair in such a way as to not care if it gave way under his considerable weight. And as soon as he was settled, and new and gruff voice rang out over the generally quiet sounds which normally filled the lunch time inn.

"BARKEEP!" The teamster roared at what must've been the top of his intimidating voice. "Drink for me, and board for my team."

The Enutrof watching over the tap had seen more than his share of rough and tough customers saunter and stagger into his establishment. So he was not very startled by the brusque manners of the new arrival.

The first across his path wasn't the barkeep himself. Rather, a short but curvaceous Ecaflip girl with short bangs, long ponytails and a bright smile was the first to turn a tray full of mugs toward the inn’s newest customer.

"Welcome to Amakina Inn, good sir!" Mavis said brightly to the dark and dour figure now casting a pall over the table where he sat alone, still holding his imposing whip as if it was to be used at any time, and on anyone he fancied.

Usually, Mavis bright smile matched her eyes, and her figure was enough to distract most any drinker from common flashes of alcohol induced anger. But the curvy female's presence did nothing to lift the teamster's evidently sour mood, and even more sour attitude.

"I'll have food, and your best, and you'd best be quick about it my girl!" The teamster growled at her as only a canine could. "And just you mind that it is the best, you hear?" The teamster snapped at her. It was as if Mavis had accidentally trodden on his tail, rather than giving the new customer the standard social smile.

The rough outburst caught the attention of a few of the patrons in the main room. Three or four of them glanced up from their lunches to check the source of the unaccustomed rude noise.

The wagon master must’ve felt the eyes of strangers upon him, so he sounded a low growl that shook the heretofore friendly room filled with noontime crowds.

The low threatening sounds raised short hairs on the people around about the common room. Many of them looked back to their plates.

The teamster nodded shortly, and with a satisfied air, he set eyes on Mavis once again. “You’d best be moving, wench!” He snapped at her once more. “I want lunch before dinner, if it’s all the same to the likes of you.”

The Ecaflip had been an entertainer as well as a server in her heyday, and Mavis, like the innkeeper, was used to dealing with the occasional “overheated” or gruff patron.  
But this time, there was something in the teamster’s voice. Something sinister, well beyond the bounds of an implied physical threat.  
As she stood still before him, Mavis felt cold fear trickle down her spine. Her normally dancing blue eyes took on a visible cloud of fear.

“By your leave,Sir..” She said in a small frightened voice to the teamster still holding his whip.

Some reflex deep inside her made her move quickly and instinctively out of range of both the darkly cloaked canine figure and his whip. 

Mavis was certain to take the long way back to the kitchen, along the route which kept her at a safe distance from the inn’s newest customer.

Bruno, who was the cook and daytime manager saw Mavis shrik into the kitchen. Normally coquettish and happy, the servant girl's obvious terror radiated from her, filling the entire workspace with fear.

Bruno looked up from a pot of Gobball Stew, and looked urgently at the cowering Ecaflip girl.

"Mavis dear, what's wrong my little dove?"

"It's table twelve, Bruno. He's the most brusque and horrible sort." Mavis whispered, still in the grip of a fear that Bruno had never seen from her, or from anyone else who was a coworker and a friend.

"Sounds like another hard head that needs cracking." Bruno replied as he set down the soup ladle with one hand, and untying his kitchen apron with the other before reaching above the fireplace with both hands to lift a shovel from a spot on the wall where he had mounted it several years before.

The handy tool, and symbol of the Enutrof became Bruno's sometimes answer to a rough customer over the years.

Bruno stepped out from behind the low counter meant to do side work in the kitchen. Using his shovel like a staff, he playfully scooped Mavis from the spot where she was standing right up off the floor, and onto his free shoulder on the opposite side. The Ecaflip girl overcame her fear, and hugged him gently as he smiled at her.

"Now then, my little one, let's go see who this big bad bully happens to be." Bruno replied.

"Careful Bruno, this dog has a whip, and I'll wager he knows how to use it." Mavis warned him in a quiet whisper since she was so close to his ear.  
Bruno nodded, and stooped enough for Mavis to fit under the top of the kitchen door, and still keep a place of safety and security on his shoulder.

"Hey you, stranger!" Bruno said in a slightly raised voice as he came through the door and cast a long shadow directly over the stranger's table.

The teamster who still held a hand full of short whip made no reply.

Bruno instantly caught sight of the whip which Mavis had mentioned. It had a long, thin tapering handle about two feet long. It gave way to a number of thin cords,, each with a small lead weight woven into the end of the strand. The cords were about 6 inches longer. This gave the whip a reach of just over a yard, plus the length of the strangers slightly thicker arms and shoulders.

Bruno kept well back. The reach of his shovel was almost double that of the stranger's whip. If the ill-mannered canine chose to start something, Bruno knew that he would have the advantage.

"Where's my order, innkeeper?" The canine asked Bruno in a low voice. "Or couldn't that silly wench remember my order?" The canine asked, moving no more than his eyes as he spoke.

"Listen stranger!" Bruno spoke up in a somewhat more boisterous way.

“Mavis here is a friend of the house, and a friend to everyone in this village. If you want your food and your lodgings here, and not in the public stable, you'll do better to mind your manners." Bruno rebuked the canine guest in a surly tone. One that began to draw interested looks from some of the other regulars sitting around the room. One or two of them got up from the food and seemed to move quietly toward the main door, and out of the way of trouble.

"Now make up your mind stranger." Bruno continued on after a moment. "If you apologize nicely enough to Mavis, I may let you stay. Now start apologizing, or start leaving, right now."

The canine made a sudden and well practiced sweeping arc of his whip arm. As the end of his whip coiled for a moment around the length of Bruno shovel, the canine attempted a strong pull, intent on disarming the larger Enutrof.

But Bruno had seen this move before, and was both balanced and ready. As the whip entangled his shovel for a moment, Bruno took advantage of the fact that the canine found himself slightly extended, and a bit off balance. Before the canine could manage the pull that would have disarmed Bruno, Bruno managed a yank of his own. The canine teamster seem to fly across the short space between himself and the taller man whose shovel blade was already moving.  
As he pulled the canine teamster out of his seat and across the table toward him with a powerful heave, Bruno turned the shovel in both hands, so that one of the two blades on either end of the shovel came down with a stern crack on the canine's head! 

The next second found the unmanageable customer sprawled on the floor of the inn, as if someone had spread out some sort of new animal skin to soften the steps of the customers.

While the rude teamster was busy counting stars, Bruno put a foot none to gently onto the wrist of the hand that held the teamster's whip. With his other free hand, Bruno relieved the canine of the obvious and threatening weapon. Bruno handed it off to Mavis, who was still seated on his shoulder. From her higher perch, Mavis could cast the whip across the room, and into the fireplace.  
The main room was filled with an acrid smell for a moment or two, as the dried leather implement seemed to dissolve in the flames.

That done, Bruno looked down at the nasty tempered teamster, now without his weapon, and decidedly without friends in the great room.

"I suppose this means we won't be friends." Bruno said to the teamster who was still laying stretched out on the floor. The canine was only now beginning to recover his senses.

Before his unruly former guest could make a try at causing any more trouble, Bruno set Mavis down gently in a chair at the table where the canine teamster had been seated.

"Now you just sit there, my dove. And after I am done taking the rubbish out, this time, I'll bring you your lunch."

Once Mavis was safe and steady, Bruno reached down, and simply hefted the semiconscious canine across his wider shoulders. This way, the dog couldn't move, or try to start any more trouble.

Bruno swung around with his burden across his shoulders, carefully ducking out of the way of the customers who had kept their seats. 

When he got to the big main doors of the inn,, Bruno took exactly two steps outside of his door, and simply heaved the semiconscious stranger toward a knoll of soft grass near the fountain in the middle of the town square.

The canine teamster landed more softly than he deserved, only a yard or two distant from his unusual team of sheep and wagon.

For his part, Bruno was both careful and deliberate, walking back into the inn, and closing both of the wide doors behind him so the stranger would not return without notice or effort.

Once the great doors were locked with their bolts of ancient iron, Bruno simply put his shovel up over another set of pegs, above the fireplace this time, and turned to tending to Mavis, who in spite of her fine show of bravery, was still lightly shaken from the encounter with the rude dog.

As the dazed and nasty teamster lay face down in the soft grass, contemplating his newly acquired headache, a pair of smooth black boots, polished to an absolute perfection filled his blurry vision.

"Well my fine canine." A cultured voice seemed to rebuke him from somewhere far above. "I do hope you've learned a lesson by which both of us will profit." The voice finished with a definite note of contempt for the figure still sprawled out upon the ground.

The nasty dog managed to collect enough of himself and his disheveled form to look up at the owner of the boots. But when he did so, it was with a distinctly different glance than he had focused on the serving wench.

"But Maxim!" The slightly used dog growled. "They took me by surprise!. " The canine whimpered pathetically as he rubbed the top of his head with a light and careful touch.

"Yes my canine friend, the skull that has no brains is yet unbroken, no thanks at all to its idiotic owner." Replied the tall man in high black boots and riding gear.  
"Now get yourself up, and be quick about it. You're embarrassing me." Maxim rebuked more sharply.

The nasty canine made a supreme effort to pull himself together and stand before his betters. "Yes sir, as you say, Sir. The nasty dog seem to recite, while his manners turned from rude to slightly obsequious.

"Now come along, you stupid blunt object." We have work to do about the town, and you have made things no easier. We must first mend the fences which you have broken down." Maxim said in a cold voice absolutely without any note of pity for his compatriot.

"Set another paw out of line, and when we leave here, it will be you pulling the wagon, rather than the expensive trained Gobballs."

"Yes, Sir. As you like, Sir." The now obsequious servant muttered in reply.

A tall man with an aristocratic air and a determined gait moved swiftly toward the inn, with his now cowed friend walking silently in his wake.

Together, they waited outside the door, until they opened again to let a group of patrons return to work.  
He was in among them, and walking in the other direction into the main room before the doors closed again. When Bruno turned and saw the somewhat shrunken brown figure standing in the middle of the main room, his first and only reaction was to make a fast grab for his shovel.

He was already swinging on the brown figure, when the tall aristocratic man intervened with a half step and with the point of one elbow, deflected the downward shovel strike on his companion.

"Now, now my good innkeeper, that's certainly no way to welcome a guest, and someone who wishes to make his sincerest apologies for disturbing the peace of this fine establishment." The man wearing the black boots said in a cultured and well mannered voice.

It seemed to disarm Bruno, who was still taking in the shock of having his best strike so casually brushed out of the way. His temper defused somewhat, Bruno let the shovel blade fall, and touch the floor in a nonthreatening position.

"Oh does he now?" Said Bruno right out loud with the kettle full of suspicion still in his voice. "Do you know whom he has to apologize to, and what for, my good man?" Bruno asked, looking and sounding every inch the owner and manager of the establishment.

The man in the black boots and the aristocratic dress cast hard eyes on the canine teamster. Then he looked back at Bruno more sympathetically as he spoke once more.

"I can well imagine, given his ill-mannered and inexcusable behavior. Judging from the looks that he's getting from the young lady just behind you, I'll wager some offense was made to her. Am I correct, good sir?"

"Yes, yes, quite right, Sir. Bruno replied somewhat shortly but with much less anger in his voice and posture.

"I'm quite well aware that no amount of money can buy refinement, or good manners. But as you have been offended, I am also prepared to augment my apology with a certain amount of coin for both yourself, and most naturally for the attractive young lady who his been affronted by this cad."

The black booted strangers refined use of language and manners seem to mesmerize everyone in the room. His hand moved slowly to a large rectangular box hanging on his belt, one which matched his boots. He opened it slowly, and raised the leather lid, so he could show the room the gold in the boxlike pouch, and that the pouch itself contained no weapon that could be seen.

"For yourself a good innkeeper, and an Enutrof, in less I'm fairly wide of the mark, one hundred Kama. Both by way of apology, and for the purchase of your finest which the establishment may offer for myself."

"Done!" Said Bruno quickly, accepting the small stack of gold coins from the aristocratic fellow, who also wore black gauntlets that covered his hands, and reached up his arm toward his elbows. "Fine!" The aristocrat replied. 

"Done and done." He added before making a game attempt to look around Bruno to the cautious figure of Mavis, who was sheltering behind the innkeeper during the entire exchange.

"Now then, to the offended young lady, I offer the return of her honor by way of apology, and to make certain that she is happy and fulfilled in her life, I offer the same, one hundred Kama."

"But sir, that's more money than I've ever seen." Mavis protested, even while another stack of gold coins put a golden glint in her eyes.

"A lady such as yourself should see money flow like rain in the springtime." The aristocratic man answered with a sweeping bow.

As he stood up, his eyes shifted once again to Bruno.

"Tell me innkeeper, who makes the finest clothing in this village?"

"That would be Roxanne the dressmaker." Bruno answered at once. "Her work is known from Brakmar to Bonta, and well beyond. Her work is well worth seeing, as well as wearing." Bruno added, not at all stretching the truth in any way.

"Fine, fine my good man." Maxim replied. "For I propose not only mere money for this fair flower, but a new wardrobe, more suited to her work, as well as her soon to be extended social life." The aristocrat added casually, as if he were buying one more bail of grass for his sheep.

Hearing this, Mavis let out a combination giggle and shout of sheer glee.

"Roxanne is my very best friend. We've known each other since we were young. I've wanted to wear her fashions ever since we could walk!" Mavis blurted out like an excited schoolgirl given the highest marks in the class.

"Very well then. So you shall, my pretty lady, so you shall."

Then, just for a moment, Maxim's demeanor seemed to change as he looked again on the canine figure trying unsuccessfully to make himself as small as possible behind him.

"Stand up, you, and take your medicine from this young lady, and from these patrons. Have you nothing to say for yourself, you worthless pile of dog?"  
As he spoke so harshly, Maxim stepped, or more like slid to one side, leaving his unruly servant unprotected from the patrons of the Inn.

"Please, good people, and fair young lady. Please forgive my rudeness and my anger. I meant no offense, and I hope you'll forgive me."

Maxim now looked directly at Bruno, for inside this building, his word was law. And the aristocratic man respected that when dealing with servants.

"Well, given what he just said, and if he stays out of trouble, he is welcome to stay, as are you, my good Sir." Bruno said after a moment's consideration, and a brief nod from Mavis, who was now standing beside him, rather than behind him.

"My servant will sleep in the stables along with my sheep. And lucky he is to have a place. I request your best room, both for tonight, and for the time being, if you would be so kind." Maxim spoke to the innkeeper in the same tone as a gracious guest.

Bruno consider the proposition while he looked at the line of gold coins now spread out from corner to corner across his palm.  
The room was certainly paid for, just as their grievance had been repaid, with interest and sincerity from someone of quality.

"Done, and once again, welcome for as long as you wish to stay."

"I knew a great and gracious inn when I saw it." The man in the black boots said. "Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Maxim, Maxim de la Fer." He began in a sociable tone. "I am an explorer, mapmaker, and sometimes treasure hunter, an occupation which I feel our host can well understand." Maxim continued, before he bowed to the room with another wide sweeping turn that put him on course for the flight of steps which led upstairs. The man seemed to slide across the room in one long stride.

"If I can count upon the assistance of the lovely young lady, I should like to see my room. I have been many days on the road, and for the moment I need a soft bed as much as the excellent food which is obviously a part of this inn."

Bruno gave a reassuring nod to Mavis, and the servant girl became a guide as she kippered across the room, and with the bow of her own, Mavis showed Maxim the way up to his room. "This way Sir, if you please." Mavis said, assuming her second job without missing a beat.

Maxim bowed to her in return, and swept up the stairs, passing her by a step or two, to allow Mavis to lead him up the stairs from behind, and also so that no one could mistake his intentions with the young girl alone in his room.


	10. Shadow of Friendship

Count Maxim was seen as a gentleman of quality by most of the villagers after his performance at the Inn that afternoon. As such, he was eagerly welcomed into all of the village shops and the craft locations as well.

The aristocratic gentleman made good his promise to Mavis in fine style. He saw to it that she left the best shops in Amakina with more frills and dresses than she could carry. So much so the the gruff Brown canine in Maxim’s employ was forced to put down his spare whip, and become a beast of burden in his own right, working for Mavis as she shopped all around the village.

That same morning, Maxim announced a grand party, to be held at the Inn, with all of the villagers invited.

Later that same afternoon, Maxim chanced to stop and browse for a bit at the potion shoppe, which Felice ran in a small alcove room built on the side of her modest home.  
The Enripsa was alone, and was concentrating on dinner for Cici and Shibu, when Maxim called her discreetly to one side.

“I am glad to have found a healer of such fine reputation here in this quaint village.” Maxim said by way of introduction. “My name is Maxim, as you have no doubt heard. But more than the social graces bring me to you this fine day.” The man in the high black boots explained.

“How might I help you, Your Excellency?” Felice inquired in a polite business-like tone.

Maxim dipped a hand into the edge of the fine cloak he wore as an afternoon garment. He drew a parchment scroll out of one of the hidden inside pockets.

“I am holding a commission from Bonta, Madame. “Our Palace guards require a goodly supply of the finest in healing potions, and charms of all types.” Maxim explained.

Felice’s round face lit up with far more than casual interest. A Royal warrant could make any merchant practically rich overnight, under the right conditions.

“I have here the formula for our required potion. I am permitted to share this information in connection for a bid to make twenty-four chests of the finest healing potions that Kamas can buy.”

“Well, let’s have a look, shall we?’ Felice said amiably. She took the parchment and unrolled it, reading the recipe which she found to be more than familiar to her.  
“These are quite simple.” Felice replied. “All but one component is common. But you are in some luck. The uncommon ingredient grows in abundance quite near here, and can be had in quantity, and quickly.”

Maxim nodded. “That is what our scouting reports indicated, Madame Felice.”

“Under the Royal Warrant, I can commission sample lots of the potion to be tested on a trial basis.” Maxim explained.

“I can have the first chest ready by this time tomorrow, would that be satisfactory?” Felice inquired.

“Indeed it would.” Maxim responded. “My companion can return to Bonta with the samples, and then, upon approval, I shall grant the Royal Warrant for the remaining shipment.”

"This is wonderful news!" Felice said with a smile that seemed to light up her round face. "But it's also one of the largest potion orders I've had in some time." Felice began slowly. "Your order can easily be met. But I shall need to augment my stock of ingredients, as I don't keep enough materials here to fulfill an order of this size." Felice explained to her new client.

"That's perfectly fine." Maxim replied affably. "We would naturally prefer the freshest and most potent potions possible. I'm sure you understand." Maxim continued with an oily smile.

"I can certainly gather the freshest of herbs from the wild." Felice explained. "It will slow down the creation of your sample lot somewhat. My entire family are kind enough to assist me when this sort of opportunity arises."

"I've come to admire the people of this village a great deal." Maxim replied. "If other places worked together in the same way, life in general would certainly be easier, even in a grand place like Bonta."

Felice smiled and nodded. "In my case, I have two of the very best helpers. I can assure you that they are without equal, even in the great cities of Bonta and Brakmar."

"Your work enjoys a great reputation in these parts, my dear Felice. I leave the matter entirely in your capable hands." Maxim replied.

"Have you had the pleasure of meeting my son yet, Your Excellency?"

"I cannot say so." Maxim answered. "I'm sure I would remember meeting such a fine quality lad as has been described to me by so many of the villagers."

Felice, rose from her seat and curtsied with a rapid flutter of wings.

"If you'll pardon me, Your Excellency, I'll arrange an introduction now." Felice said as she floated toward her library door.

"I'd be charmed, I'm sure." Maxim replied in a smooth voice which was part butter and part oil.

"Shibu!" Felice called out, speaking just a touch louder than usual so her voice would carry across the village green on the spring breeze.

On the other side of the common area, Shibu, Dylan and the others were in the usual process of practice to prepare themselves for the spring tournament. But the entire team paused where they stood when a familiar call and a familiar name came to them on the breeze.

"Hold on fellas!" Shibu said as he stopped in mid kick. "It isn't dinner time yet, but let me go find out what's going on. I'll be back in a while." Shibu told his teammates.

"Sure Shibu, go on." Dylan replied with an easy smile. "May be with you gone for a while, the rest of us will have a chance to score some goals for a change!" Dylan told them as the young Ecaflip reached over, and tousled the top of Shibu's unusual hat ever so gently.

"Hurry back, superstar." Dylan kidded. "When you get back, you can lead us in our footwork drills."

Dylan saw Shibu's face light up with a huge smile as the boy in the long tail hat sprinted toward his house, the fluffy tail of his hat streaming in the breeze behind him.

For just a moment, Dylan was tempted to follow. But one of the others tugged lightly at his elbow. "Come on Captain, let's kick!" Dylan smiled, and went back to practice with the rest of his teammates.

Shibu seemed reinvigorated by being out in the springtime air. Because he was slightly shorter than the other boys, not counting the length of his hat, when Shibu decided to run, he could outrace the deer around the village. As he cut across the green to answer the familiar call, Shibu not only ran, but he ran and jumped forward at the half step. The result was an arcing path across the wide open grass that let him move faster than even he thought he could. He had not put any thought into the unusual motion. It seemed to come to him as pure reflex.

It came to him the same way the blue light had done as he was falling from the tree. But this time there was no panic, no fear. Just a happy and natural exuberance that seem to lend Shibu an extra energy and spring in his step.

As Shibu thought about the blue light, it was suddenly before him, and then around him again. A moment later, halfway across the green, another blue circle appeared floating just above the door to his house. He seemed to fall, or more likely just to step into it while moving forward, and suddenly he was standing in his own doorway.

"I'm here, Mom. What can I--" Shibu's question was cut off, as he seemed to appear from the blue circle above his head, and drop onto his porch as lightly as ever.

Felice was standing with someone Shibu had never seen. But he had heard the other boys in the village, talking about how much he had bought from their fathers since coming to visit the village.

"Oh excuse me." Shibu began by rote. "I didn't mean to disturb you both."

Both Felice and her guest had seen Shibu's unusual entrance. Shibu had never seen an expression like that on his mother's round face in all the time he could remember.

Standing at her side, the tall aristocrat in the black boots looked at the young boy with eyes the size of eggs. But Shibu couldn't help but feel that there was something different in the taller man's expression. No trace of fear, but in its place honest surprise, fascination, and a glimmer of recognition.

"Hello Shibu!" Felice chirped, still a bit breathless with her own note of surprise. "Have you met the Count Maxim from Bonta, my darling?" Felice asked, suddenly sounding rather formal.

"Oh, you're the fellow that everyone in the village is talking about." Shibu replied easily, with no trace of excessive formality.  
"I'm Shibu. Pleased to meet you, Count Maxim."

Shibu concluded his introduction, not so much with a formal bow, as an easy handshake.

Count Maxim shook off his outright shock, long enough to take Shibu's hand in a gentle but solid grasp.

"Pleased to meet you my boy. Your mother has said so many wonderful things about you." The aristocratic man replied. As he spoke, Shibu could not help but notice that the aristocrat saw something that Shibu did not, and was reflected openly in the aristocrat’s eyes.

"If I may, Count Maxim, you should also know that you shake the hand of one of the best potion makers in the entire district." Felice explained with a note of quiet pride in her voice.

"Really?" Answered Count Maxim as he tried with little success to cover up the recognition that could be seen in his eyes as he looked at Shibu. "Do tell." Continued Maxim in an affable way.

"Shibu is not only my adopted son, but he's been my apprentice almost since his first day here with us." Felice explained, maintaining the gentle touch of pride in her voice, as Shibu blushed like a rose under praise from his mother.

"Shibu can even manage a potion or two of his own design." Felice added. "So I have great hopes and expectations for the new generation. Together, the samples you desire, and the rest of the order under the Royal warrant will be no challenge whatsoever once we have gathered the freshest of ingredients." Felice spoke up, explaining the situation to Shibu as she did so.

Shibu was as almost as happy as Felice was proud. A great huge smile spread openly across his young face. "You mean we have to go into the forest?" Shibu asked, looking rapidly had both adults in turn.  
Felice nodded, now sharing her son smile at the anticipation he felt.

"Yes Shibu, into the forest, and across to the pastures  
beyond." Felice answered.

By now, Shibu was practically vibrating with excitement. So much so that it took Felice resting both hands on his shoulders to steady him.

"You know what to do Shibu." Felice told him calmly. "Go and make the preparations, and gather the camping supplies." Felice instructed.

Shibu nodded, and was off at a fast and purposeful walk, because he already knew he wasn't allowed to run in the house.

"Permit me a guess." Count Maxim said with a touch of whimsy as Shibu practically bounced around the corner of the next room and out of sight. "First camping trip of the summer?" Inquired the Count.

"Yes Your Excellency. I hope you'll pardon his youthful exuberance. I promise you he is every bit the gifted potion maker whom I presented to you." Felice replied with all the formality she could bring to bear.

"Think nothing of it at all." Maxim replied with a gentle smile. "Boys in Bonta are exactly the same way this time of year."

"Thank you for understanding, Your Excellency." Felice answered.

"And upon that subject." Count Maxim replied. "Please accept this small emolument, for such supplies and other things you may need to prepare the sample potions we have agreed upon."

As he spoke, the aristocrat produced a leather pouch from the inside pocket of his cloak. It was the size of two large eggs, and sealed with wax which bore the seal of Bonta."

The weight of the pouch in her hand put so much stress on her wings that it almost forced her to stand on the floor, rather than hover above it. “Thank you for your kind generosity." Felice stammered as she struggled to fly, rather than stand.

"My distinct pleasure, my dear Felice. Count Maxim began. "My only regret is that you will miss the celebration which I had planned for tonight at the village Inn."

"Don't give it another thought, Your Excellency." Felice answered casually. "My son and I are happiest when we’re together, and even more so together in making potions." Felice replied. "We expect to be gone overnight and return early tomorrow morning. Then, we shall begin to craft the samples which you have requested. Is that satisfactory, Your Excellency?" Felice asked, returning to the respectful tone that was due to the Count and his station.

"Felice, you have no idea at all how happy that turn of events will make me." Count Maxim replied. "For the moment, I must forsake your charming company to prepare for the celebrations tonight. Should you need anything before leaving, please do not hesitate to ask. And please give my regards to Shibu, he is indeed a most unique boy." So saying, Count Maxim rose from his seat, and with a dashing bow and doff of his hat toward Felice, the aristocratic noble seemed to disappear on a puff of the spring breeze.

“Mother, It’s all here together, but we’ll need the larger wagon for the longer poles, and our collections.” Shibu called from the other room.

“Fine, Shibu, sweetie.” Felice replied. “Count Maxim was quite impressed with you, Darling.” 

The reference made Shibu giggle from afar. But then, Shibu walked around the edge of the doorway to talk to Felice.

“Mother, did you notice how Count Maxim was looking at me when we met?” Shibu asked openly.

“You’re a very handsome fellow, My Darling.” Felice replied. “When people meet someone as handsome as you are, they remember it.” Felice explained with a loving smile.   
She smiled even wider when she noticed Shibu, blushing, and trying to hide his face in the folds of his hat’s long tail.

“S’matter dear?” Felice asked playfully. ”You must notice how all the girls in the village gather around when ever you start kicking that ball.”

“Oh mom!” was all Shibu could manage to say. “I’d rather watch the ball.”

“I’m surprised you don’t have girls asking for you more than your teammates, Really.”

Felice paused, because she could feel the heat coming off her son’s ears, in spite of his hat.

She leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. “Thanks for your help, Dearest. Why don’t you run along outside for now. I’m sure your team needs you, as much as the girls might like to have another look at their favorite before the Day of Hearts.” Felice said with a coy smile at her boy.

“Thanks Mom. If you need me, just call.” Shibu replied as he made a long-legged stride for the door and outside. Shibu didn’t say anything as he ran across the green to his team again, but he was grateful for the evening air that cooled his ears so nicely.

As Shibu ran off to become his own happy self again, Felice paused. Shibu was more unique than he was ready to understand. Yet, he had been correct about the way Count Maxim had looked at him.

Felice set aside packing the rest of the empty potion bottles in her stock room, and floated swiftly into the communal room that was also Shibu’s favorite, because it was lined from floor to roof with books.

Felice spent part of everyday in this room too, and every book on each shelf was just like an old friend to her. In a moment, she found the book that she was looking for.

“Nobles of Bonta” she whispered quietly as she slipped the book down from the shelf and over to her workbench.

Felice was never the suspicious kind, but this time, just this once, something made her curious about their noble visitor.  
As she leafed slowly thru the familiar parchment pages and their illuminated illustrations, she felt her concern become something deeper still.

It was too late in the day to go to Bonta, but there were ways to send messages to all of the great cities. Felice closed her book, and took up quill and parchment paper, scribbling a note to another Enripsa Felice knew in the capitol city.

As soon as she signed it, she inscribed a few more unique symbols at the bottom of the page. The parchment glowed faintly, rose from the workbench, folded itself into a small flat triangle, and promptly vanished in a puff of smoke.

Normally, Enripsa healers used this transport magic to get potion formulas from one to another during emergencies.  
The Healer’s Guild frowned on it being used for personal messages, as did the Royal Postal Service in Bonta.

But there was something inside Felice now that whispered to her that if she only had to pay a small fine, it would be the least of her worries.

Count Maxim made his way across the green, and across the village toward the stables with a quick and deliberate stride.

He was right, he thought to himself. There was something more than unique about the boy with the strange hat. But for now, and for the evening to come, Count Maxim had other matters which demanded his attentions. He was slowed down as he passed through the village, as every person he seemed to meet also bowed or curtsied as a sign of respect.

It was a sign of respect that the Count himself was expected to return. Although it took more time than he supposed with evening twilight closing in, he kept his rendezvous at the back of the stable near the edge of the forest.

Hidden from sight by the dense trees of the local forest, Maxim found the familiar brown cloaked canine who was his servant. The canine knelt subserviently in the presence of his noble Master.

“Get up you fool, get up. There’s no time for such horseplay now. Have you brought the wine, the beer, and the candy, as I have instructed?”

“Yes Master.” Said the canine in a growled voice as he labored to stand up again. “It is all here, and prepared as you have instructed.” The canine told his Master.

“You have done well, for once.” The Count replied sarcastically. “But before tonight’s festivities begin, there’s one more thing to do. Keep a lookout, and warn me if you see anyone at all.” Count Maxim told his servant. “I will finish preparing the special repast for the party tonight.”

“As you say, Master.”

Count Maxim ignored him, and instead, fixed his attentions on several barrels gathered into one tight group, waiting for spigots through small holes opened in the side of each barrel. Turned up right as they were, it was simple for the noble in the black boots to pass from barrel to barrel, pausing over each one to draw out from a pocket in his cloak, a small bottle which held an innocent looking emerald liquid.

The esteemed Count was careful to look around himself, before deftly pouring four to six drops of the emerald liquid into each of the waiting barrels.

Then, Count Maxim turned with venom of another kind, to look upon the sweets that had been gathered for the children that would be attending the celebration. This time, the Count took another small bottle from the inside of his cloak, and pulled out the stopper. The bottle sizzled slightly, and emitted a small cloud of pink fumes that seemed to settle over the gathered sweets, dried fruits, and molasses candies. In a moment, the pink mist was dissipated on the rising breeze of the twilight. But Count Maxim knew that his work had been done.

His trap was set.

Now time was on his side. All he had to do was wait, and let people be people.

But just then, another thought crossed the mind of the greedy noble. There was one more matter which required his attention. 

“Tap those barrels, and see to it that everything else is taken to the Inn.” Count Maxim instructed his henchmen. “I shall appear there later on.” He continued. “For now, there’s another small matter of scholarship that requires my attention.”

“As you will, Master.” The brown cloaked canine responded as he moved toward the first of the barrels.

Such menial tasks were beneath a noble and his attention. While his servant worked, the Count seemed to vanish into the rear of the wagon that was still harnessed to the frightening Gobballs.  
Once inside the wagon, the Count made certain to draw the rain flap, making sure he was alone inside, and could not be seen from the outside.

Once no one could see him, Count Maxim drew a golden key from the innermost hidden pocket of his cloak. He put the ornate key into the time rusted lock that sealed one of two huge chests kept hidden under the domed canvas top of the wagon.  
From the ancient chest, the Count took out a binder of leather and cord, sealed with a familiar wax. As he drew back the ancient seal, the noble removed one of two ancient books from the folio.  
He knew these books as well as Felice knew her own. Instantly the book older than most Legends of Bonta fell open to a page the Count had seen many times before. As soon as he saw the illuminated illustration, excitement he could not contain made him whisper one word out loud.

“Eliotrope!” The Count repeated breathlessly. “I knew it the moment I saw him!”

Maxim’s spirit felt an uplifting rush. The legends were true! And where there were Eliotropes, there were bound to be dragons, too!

Maxim stared at the ancient and historic picture of the Eliotrope. As he looked down upon the surviving fragment of ancient history, another much darker scheme took shape in his larcenous mind.

Why steal mere possessions, when, with a little more work, you can steal people just as well? He asked himself rhetorically.

If young Shibu shared even a fraction of the capabilities of his native people, stealing anything and everything in the world would be child's play, as long as the Count stole Shibu first!

Almost at once, he had a scheme. But every scheme required someone to take the blame.  
Maxim’s eyes shifted from the illuminated page in the manuscript to the figure outside the wagon, who was moving the food and drink for tonight's party.  
Nothing of value can be had without price, Maxim reminded himself.

The Count closed the book as if it were made of gold leaf, and tenderly placed it back in the leather folio. He was careful to re-tie it, and slip it back into the trunk before re-locking the trunk with the golden key. Then, Maxim hopped out of the wagon.

He knew now what had to be done.  
The cost would be high, but someone else would pay the price.

And Count Maxim De Fer would become as famous as his station deserved.

The world's best known King, and most refined thief. The only one in History with his own Eliotrope!


	11. Party of One

Count Maxim walked from the edge of the forest, beyond the stables, and back into town. It was the long way around, but the extra few minutes gave the noblemen a few extra moments for reflection on the plan whose details were still forming in his mind.

By the time he returned to the village inn, a gentle evening breeze was settling over the village, along with the setting sun, and the rising twilight.

The Count could see both Bruno, the Innkeeper and his own redoubtable canine servant, working together to set up a half a dozen huge barrels that would provide the libations for the villager’s party.

In return for his generosity toward the people, the villagers themselves had seen to the cuisine. Dishes of every type and description filled six long wooden tables at the center of the inn to the point where each of them nearly sagged under the weight of enough food to feed the village twice over.

With the festivities in good hands, Count Maxim went not into the inn, but passed it by, heading for the modest roundish house on the edge of the village green which was home to Felice, Shibu, and Cici.  
Before the party began, he had to make certain of one more thing.

Maxim was relieved to see another team of Dray sheep and a medium-sized wagon pulled up on the green itself, just off of the path which led in a roundabout way out of the village and into the forest.  
As he approached the front porch, a familiar figure stepped sideways through the door.

The Count was quite surprised to see the young lad who owned the hat carrying a formidable trio of tent poles across his shoulders. They were bound together with sturdy leather cords, and were wrapped together with the length of hide that would form the tent.  
Yet, Shibu moved underneath the load as if it barely weighed anything at all.

His load prevented him from stopping, and bowing to the noblemen as tradition demanded. But as their paths crossed for a few steps, Maxim got a much closer look at Shibu than he had before.

Even under the large hood which was a part of his hat, Shibu’s mop of dense black hair helped to frame his face, and above all, to set off the pure almost reflective blue in the most stunning pair of penetrating eyes that Maxim could imagine.

Shibu’s skin had just a hint of bronze in it, and along with Shibu’s high cheekbones, smallish nose, and those wonderful blue wide set eyes that seemed to sparkle with the fire of curiosity, there was no doubt whatsoever that anyone who met the lad for more than the space of a few seconds would remember him vividly.

He was slightly longer of limb than average, but not overly delicate. His chest was broad and deep for his age, and it was obvious from the way he moved even while encumbered, that there was a certain grace and balance paired with an obviously above-average strength.

“Need a hand, Shibu?” The Count asked with an easy smile as he moved to lift the bundle of poles and tent from Shibu’s shoulders.

Shibu shied away slightly. “It’s all right, Count. I can manage.” Shibu replied with a casual tone that the Count found refreshing.

Shibu passed him by, taking two long strides toward the wagon waiting a few steps off of the porch. The Count looked on as Shibu turned slightly, walking up to the open and of the wagon bed with the nimble side step. Then he slid the load off of his shoulders sideways, and into the wagon before ducking out from under the remainder of the length, and sliding the bound poles the rest of the way into the wagon bed. Once the weight was removed from his shoulders, Shibu’s strong legs straightened, and the young boy with the hooded stocking cap hopped over the porch rail, and back into the house, as if he’d been carrying nothing at all.

Count Maxim had always been a careful observer. It was how he managed to survive both his birthright and his chosen profession, while many of his contemporaries had failed.

If Shibu was to be his, then learning all he could about him, and in every way he could would only grant him a larger advantage.

While he was considering everything he had seen, Felice floated around the edge of the door, headed for the wagon carrying some assorted glassware inside a small wooden box with an open top. Felice was so intent on holding the glassware steady that she almost came nose to nose with Count Maxim!

“Oh, good evening, Your Excellency.” Felice said warmly. “I hope all goes well with you, and the festivities as well?”

“Everything is going swimmingly, Madame Felice. You need not worry in the slightest. I’m so very sorry that you and Shibu won’t be able to attend the festivities.” Count Maxim said with honest solicitude in his voice.

“I regret it also. More for Shibu’s sake than my own.” Felice reflected politely. “But this is for our village, and for Bonta. So we have no regrets. I’m quite certain that there will be other parties over the spring and summer time, to which Your Excellency shall be most cordially invited.” Felice continued as she set the box of glassware down into a secure spot in the bed of the wagon. For just a moment, she came to a stop, and sat quietly on the edge of the open end of the wagon bed.

“In point of fact, we are very near ready to leave. I trust crossing parts of the forest in twilight, but we won’t risk crossing in full darkness.” Felice reflected. “But by leaving now, we shall reach the meadows and the far edge of the forest after sunrise tomorrow, which will give us all day to gather what we need.”

“A fine and well thought out itinerary.” Count Maxim replied cordially. “I leave this whole matter in two sets of very capable hands.” Count Maxim replied.

Felice smiled gently at the nobleman’s complement.

That was the opening Maxim wanted.

“May I ask you something rather personal?” The Count inquired.

“May it please Your Excellency.” Felice replied with polished manners.

“Several dozen of the young lads here were regaling me with some unusual stories about Shibu, and his unconventional, shall we say, arrival.” Count Maxim began. “Allowing some room for youthful exaggerations, I just wondered how much of it was true?”

“Well Your Excellency, as the entire village takes part in Shibu’s upbringing, all of us know the story, although we may embellish it in different ways. But I can assure you that the substance of what you have heard is true.” Felice answered patiently.

“A boy born on a lightning bolt!” Count Maxim replied. “And no one ever claimed him or called for him?” The noblemen asked discreetly.

“Sadly not, Your Excellency” Felice replied. She could not help but sound slightly downhearted as she spoke.

“How regrettable!” Count Maxim replied with genuine surprise. “You’ve done a remarkable job bringing up a most remarkable boy. Have you ever considered that he might be of noble birth?” Count Maxim inquired, treading lightly as he spoke.

“He's certainly a prince to every heart in this village, Your Excellency.” Felice replied warmly.

“Perhaps I can assist you. I do have some standing at the Royal Court. I could lay the matter before the King himself.” Count Maxim suggested.

The manipulative noblemen could see a mixture of doubt, uncertainty, and just a moment of fear flicker across Felice’s large bright eyes.

“That would be most beneficent of Your Excellency.” Felice answered as custom demanded. “The village acted to adopt him at the end of his first year, after all of our inquiries brought no information.”

“Do not worry, nothing I would do would ever take Shibu away from here or separate him from those who care about him.” The Count spoke up, sounding warm and reassuring. “But he is such a noble young lad. Very little about him is common.” The Count continued.

“In that, we are all agreed, Your Excellency.” Felice said as she stood up and curtsied to the noblemen. “Now if Your Excellency will pardon me, we must finish our preparations and be off. Please have fun at the celebration, and we will gladly see Your Excellency again soon.”

“Most assuredly. Have a safe and pleasant journey, and a speedy and safe return.”

Count Maxim bowed deeply to Felice, doffing his hat as he did so in a wide, sweeping arc. Then he turned, and strode off toward the inn.  
After all, tonight was a night for celebration. And Count Maxim had much indeed to celebrate.

The entire village turned out for the Count's party. The kids had their own separate room, so that stronger drinks could be served safely to older guests. The candy, toys and games were popular, and most of the children were asleep long before midnight. Their parents were well-served with fine food and drink, as the children’s room had also been turned into an overnight sleeping room, guarded by Count Maxim’s servant. This eased the minds of the adults and let them enjoy themselves all the more.

The Count himself was in and out over the course of the evening, sounding jovial and friendly with all the villagers.

When more and more of them started to sink to the floor, or into upstairs rooms around midnight, the Count was also there, seen to be eating and drinking to seal his alibi.

Before the new day was a half an hour old, the Inn was as quiet as the stables nearby, and Maxim’s servant left his station in front of the room where the children slept.

Before leaving, he was careful to wedge the door from the outside at the top and bottom, so it could not be opened from the inside.

The Count himself was glad to leave the Inn for some of the fresher night air. The nobleman also took a moment to quaff a small vile of antidote which he took from a pocket inside his cloak. As he met his retainer outside the Inn, the nobleman’s cap was set.

“Tonight, we work differently.” He began to explain. “Steal nothing. Touch nothing, and take nothing unless I tell you so. Understood?” The Count ordered in a commanding but low voice.

“As you command,Master.” Came the simple reply.

“Good. Our first port of call is the fine cozy home of Shibu and Felice. Follow me, and above all else, keep silent.”

“Yes, Master.”

By now, The Count knew all he needed to know. He opened Felice’s door as if he were her landlord, and closed it again quietly before walking into her workroom and library.

There was nothing here worth stealing, but Maxim was looking for information that was beyond the price which everything of value in the Village could bring.

He had seen this sort of equipment often, in better quality, and quantity in Bonta. It held no fascination for him. Potion making was simple labor, far beneath any true Noble. It was better left to those few common folk with a gift for the work.

Soon, the Count would be able to retain the loyal services of the six best alchemists in all of Bonta. There was no need to look for trade secrets within this quaint and simple dwelling. Instead this house held something of far greater value than all the potions in Bonta. Maxim's discerning and nefarious eyes swept the room for something entirely different altogether.

The nobleman was after information about Shibu. And it took the discerning Count less than two minutes of searching with his eyes alone to find what he sought. There was a small shelf just above the worktable. The only item on the shelf was a light wooden frame. One that held up and helped display one half of a golden medallion, cut in two by an ugly black line, where some indescribable power seemed to have neatly melted directly through the medallion.

Maxim immediately fixed upon it, as if nothing else in the entire Kingdom of Bonta mattered half as much. For the Count, the innocuous piece of curious brick-a-brac stood out as if it were five feet square. More than his eyes were instantly drawn to it. Maxim actually felt something stir deep within him as he looked at the characters inscribed into the gold. He knew the symbols because he had scoured lands throughout the World of the Twelve for any trace or mention of this particular language. When Maxim saw it, the Draconic characters on the metal disk glowed in his eyes like the precious metal from which the medallion itself had been struck.

The Count turned to his confederate, making a quiet sign which enforced the strictest silence within the room. “Our search here is done. This is what I am looking for. Nothing else in this entire village is worth one tenth as much as what you see before you.” The Count told his faithful canine servant.

The meaning of the words seemed lost on the brown cloaked dog.

A look of slight displeasure, and then complete disregard crossed the nobleman’s face. “But you don’t understand any of that, do you?”

“Hardly Master.” The canine servant replied in a dull whisper. “Should I take it now?”

“Oh no, in a way, this is probably the best protected object in the village, short of the boy himself. Felice would notice it missing the moment she came into the room. And that, we cannot have.” The Count replied patiently. “But we shall have the information, which is the next best thing. Have you a sheet of vellum paper in your pocket, along with my charcoal sticks?”

“Yes Master, as you have instructed me, always.”  
As he spoke, the canine servant reached into a hidden pocket on his cloak, and drew out an extremely fine, thin sheet of what seemed to be paper, and a large square stick which left black marks on his brown paws.

Maxim took them in hand as if they were any other familiar tools of larceny. He reached up with his gloved hands, and took down the frame from the small shelf. He laid it flat delicately onto an open space on the worktable, and pressed the fine thin paper over the face of the partial golden disc. Then he took his other hand, and using two fingers to guide the charcoal, Maxim rubbed the drawing stick over the face of the medallion beneath the paper. Having done this, tens of times before, it came to the Count by reflex. Looking over the Count shoulder, a simple and familiar look of amazement came to the canine’s face, as a picture the medallion seem to appear on the thin paper!

The Count was thorough and attentive in his work, being sure to capture the edges, and the unique lettering which was inscribed around the edge on the face of the surviving gold disc.

It took him less than a minute, and he had a nearly perfect copy of the face of the medallion that Cici had found in Shibu’s basket on the faithful night slightly more than a decade past.

The nobleman was also more than slightly reverent in his touch where the disc was concerned, not knowing if the ancient metal retained any of the power from the great beings who had inscribed it.  
When he was finished at last, after only five minutes or so, he was careful to replace the medallion, making certain the edges of the frame matched the slight dust marks on the shelf.

The Count was as expert at his craft as the dragons who had crafted the medallion. Felice would never know that he had been there, or the one clue to Shibu’s true origin had been expertly preserved through copying.

Maxim took hold of the vellum with the charcoal impressions upon it, and holding it by the corners with two fingers only, laid it flat, and expertly rolled it up, so the charcoal impression would not smear or be disturbed. The nobleman produced a long, thin tube of native leather, and slid the charcoal stained vellum roll into it, as if the paper itself was made from the same gold as the medallion. When he was done, and his match case was secure once again in a pocket on his belt, the nobleman looked well satisfied.

“We have what we came for, my thick canine friend.” Maxim said in a self-satisfied whisper. “It is late, let us return to the inn and retire. Our business here is done, for the moment.”

“Potions, boss?” The canine servant pushed gently as a reminder.

“We shall have bathtubs full of healing potion before this is done, my loyal canine. Now, let us go back to the inn, before a stray set of eyes spoils this wonderful night.”

The larcenous nobleman and his servant both slept until well after dawn. By the time that the inhabitants of the village began to recuperate from their unusual celebration, Felice, Shibu, and Cici had their village in sight on their return home.

Count Maxim and his servant awoke easily with the bright sunshine of the new day streaming into the windows of the room.

Without speaking a word, Maxim indicated to his canine servant that the two should wash and dress as quickly and quietly as possible. They were both ready for the day before the shadows in the room could shift with the rising Sun.

It was then that Count Maxim once again appraised the situation in which the two malefactors found themselves. It was a second story room, the only one on the building with any sort of balcony. It was also shaded in part by the slight overhang of the roof. The balcony faced East, to admit the morning sun, but this also meant that it faced the edge of the village green closest to the main path around the village, so it could be clear of other buildings, and the shadow of the trees in the forest nearby. The stables were at the rear of the inn, and facing south. This meant that the pair would have to walk around most of the building to reach the stable where their wagon and team had been prepared for a hasty departure the night before. 

But as Count Maxim was formulating plans for a stealthy escape, another thought altogether came to him. He had fallen asleep the night before with his mind overflowing with thoughts of Shibu and the ancient people whom the Count was certain that Shibu represented. The nobleman found himself inextricably drawn not necessarily to Shibu himself, but to the tremendous gifts which the dark-haired boy undoubtedly possessed. He had shown traces of them in his ability for athletics, balance, stamina, and movement. As the nobleman glanced again at the bright illumination cast into the room by the sunrise, he was sure of what he felt, and also of what he knew.

There was no avoiding the sunrise, so why waste effort in trying? The best way to hide in the full light of day was to paint oneself with sunlight. He would not and could not skulk out of town like some whipped commoner. He was a noble. Who better than to represent the forces of light, even in the presence of shadowy intentions?  
He turned to his canine servant with the most unusual, and somehow unnerving smile on his face as he spoke to the canine at his side.

“Come along my friend. We’re not leaving just yet, and we’re not leaving alone. Let us go down to breakfast, and eat hardy, for we have a morning’s work ahead of us.” Count Maxim told his servant.

“Kidnapping, Master?” The canine asked, extending his simple vocabulary nearly to its limits.

“No, my simple friend. We would never leave the village alive if we tried it. Rather, the dark-haired boy will come with us entirely of his own free will, and from that moment on, he will be ours, you shall see.”


	12. Grand Journey

Count Maxim with his canine servant in tow came downstairs to breakfast a few minutes later. The nobleman had to fight to hide the surprise at the sight that met his eyes. The main room of the inn had been a riotous mess when he saw it in the dead of night.

But as the morning sunlight filled the broad common room, everything seemed to sparkle. From the golden brass taps behind the bar, to the service of every table, to the seat of every chair, each and every service in the room upon which a customer might sit or upon which food might be placed was sparkling clean, and ready for the new day!

Bruno and his attractive Ecaflip waitress had accomplished nothing short of a miracle which might earn them a trophy in any other place and time.  
The litter of patrons was also gone away, as not one customer on the serving floor betrayed the slightest sign of fatigue or hangover.

Count Maxim was left nearly slack-jawed as he strode up to the bar with the jaunty gate and ordered breakfast for himself and his retainer. After Bruno called out the order to the kitchen, Count Maxim found an opening to inquire as to the nearly miraculous condition of Bruno’s establishment, given the intensity of the celebration the previous night.

Bruno laughed slightly as the kitchen passed him the Count’s breakfast platter of fresh sausages and eggs.

“Your Excellency is right about the miracle. Her name is Mavis.” Bruno informed him with a broad smile and a wink.  
The nobleman swallowed even more surprise along with his sausages and eggs. “Incredible!” Said the nobleman.

“Naturally.” Bruno replied simply. “That’s usually what happens after one of our celebrations if the next day is a working day.” Bruno continued with a jovial tone. “If Your Excellency requires some relief from the lingering symptoms of the celebration, I’m sure Mavis will oblige. She keeps her own chest of Felice's healing potions.”

“I find myself quite well, thank you very much, my good Bruno. Count Maxim responded with the tone that nearly put the innkeeper and himself on the same social footing.

“Felice will appreciate that.” Bruno replied. “It’s after nights like last night, that we are all reminded how much she really does for the entire village, and entirely without being asked, nor expecting any payment in return.” Bruno explained slowly.

Count Maxim nodded absently, as he mechanically finished the remainder of his breakfast. “Extraordinary!” The nobleman exclaimed.

“The food, or Felice?” Bruno inquired playfully, bandying words with the nobleman.

“Both!” Count Maxim replied in the tone of a fine jest.

“Thank you so much, my good Bruno.” The Count said as he stood, bowed courteously, and doffed his hat to the innkeeper. 

The nobleman headed for the now wide open front doors of the inn, where the morning sun streamed through to illuminate the common room brightly.

The Count’s canine servant had long since finished his portion, and was standing in an out-of-the-way corner of the room, picking his teeth with the point of a small dirk.   
He needed no command to follow his Master as the black booted nobleman strode casually out of the inn. Maxim was already headed toward the small roundish house on the edge of the green which he had visited the night before as well.

A dozen long strides allowed Maxim to stand once more on the familiar porch. He was surprised to see both the doors, and both of the windows in front opened up wide, to admit both the light, and the light breeze of the new morning.

The airy arrangement also made it possible for Cici to spot the oncoming visitor.

Before Maxim could knock on the frame of the door, as courtesy demanded, the door was opened to him by the attractive redheaded Cra archer.

“Welcome Your Excellency, please come in, and make yourself comfortable. 

“Thank you very much, Cici. Or should I say Madame Celia Starshine?”

The Count’s flattery seemed to work, and Cici’s complexion was complemented by a slight strawberry hue in her cheeks. Cici never failed to blush when someone used her full name.

“If it be Your Excellency’s pleasure, you may call me Cici as well.” Cici answered in her most high toned and cultured voice.

“As you wish, Cici.” The Count replied smoothly, adeptly reversing the roles of noble and commoner between them.

“Felice is just finishing breakfast with Shibu, Your Excellency. They returned only a short while ago. I’m certain she will attend you in only a moment.” Cici replied. “Now if Your Excellency will forgive me, I must prepare for the springtime hunt, which begins today.” Cici continued as she swept her bow and her quiver over her shoulders and moved as smoothly and silently as a fawn out of the open front doors of the house.

Count Maxim barely had time to seat himself again, before Felice fluttered around the corner on rapidly vibrating wings.

“Salutations, Your Excellency!” Felice said with polished manner and tone in her voice. “You will be happy to know that the samples you have requested are now prepared, and ready to be shipped as you have requested.”

“Do you mean to say that in addition to tending all of the villagers after last night, you have managed to prepare the trial lot of potions as well?” Count Maxim said with undeniable surprise in his voice.

“Yes, Your Excellency, we have done so.” Felice replied, trying to sound slightly immodest but failing in the best well mannered way. “I was very glad to have help from Shibu as relates to your samples. We used the remainder from the potion lot to help the villagers who were still feeling the effects of the celebration last evening.” Felice explained to the nobleman.

“Once again, we return to the remarkable Shibu. Truly, he seems to amaze at every turn.” Count Maxim observed slyly.

“Indeed he does, Your Excellency. This lot of potions he has done for you are among the finest and most careful I have ever seen him craft.” Felice replied. This time she did not try to hide behind any sort of false modesty. She was truly proud of her son, and she let it show.

“I expected nothing less from a great teacher, combined with a gifted pupil.” Maxim replied. “And it is upon that account where I wish to speak to you both further about another matter.” The nobleman spoke up, marking the smooth transition in the conversation which had come to a difficult moment.

“Is our Shibu up and about?” Maxim asked, continuing the conversation in a familiar tone. “I would reward him for his work, as much as I shall reward you for yours.”

“Indeed he is, Your Excellency.” Felice answered promptly. “Both he and I are usually awake along with the Sun.” The healer explained further. She paused for a moment, to turn away from the Count after a slight bow.

“Shibu?” She called out in a slightly higher tone of voice. “We have company, my boy!”

Shibu came running, but the fall of his bare feet across the layers of tapestry on the floor could barely be heard, even by a trained ear.

“Hello, Shibu!” Count Maxim said in a jovial tone. “How is the Village’s greatest kicker today?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Count, thank you. I had great fun camping, and getting the things we needed to make the potions you needed.” Shibu told him.

“Felice tells me I have you to thank for the work, my lad.” The Count replied admirably. “And those who do their best for Count Maxim de le Fer are justly rewarded.” The Nobleman began. “What would you and Felice say If I were to offer you a trip to Bonta with me to present these to the King?”

Floating nearby, Maxim could feel the change in heat as Felice’s excitement spiked suddenly.

“Bonta? The King? For my Shibu?” she asked right out loud. Each question was slightly louder and more excited than the one before it.

For just one completely unguarded moment, Felice herself seemed to hang perfectly still in both time and space.

Shibu saw his mother's round, cherubic face take on a distant expression, and in that same moment, Felice's eyes lit up like bright candles set upon a reading table in the shadows of the evening.

“Prince Louis!” was all that Felice could manage to whisper before Shibu stepped forward, across the space and time between them, to touch his Mother's hand, and draw her back into the present moment.

“Shibu would be under my protection at all times, and he will wear my colors. I would naturally see to it that he was properly attired to be presented at Court.” Maxim announced casually, as if he were asking for no more than another helping of eggs and sausages.

Count Maxim’s first glance when he was done speaking was toward Shibu rather than Felice. Shibu could not help but look slightly crestfallen, even at the momentous news.

“Whatever is the matter, Shibu?” The Count asked sympathetically.

“Aris and the other Enutrofs were going to take me silver mining today, Your Excellency.” Shibu replied.

“Don't worry, sweetheart.” Felice answered. “I'll make your apologies to Aris and the others. I'm sure they will understand that business comes first.”

Young Shibu simply nodded vigorously, a huge smile glowing from his boyish face.

“Yep-Yep!” Shibu replied quickly.

“Excellent!” Count Maxim replied. “Your word is good enough for me, Shibu.”

Then Shibu glanced toward Felice. Her large sympathetic eyes glowed as if they were reflecting moon light. Shibu had never seen her quite so happy before, except when she spoke about him to others.

“Would you and Cici like to come along, Mom?” Shibu asked in his usual, uncomplicated way.

“I’m afraid I have to stay here and fill the rest of this potion order, My Dear.” She answered, not sounding at all disappointed.

“Well then, Cici and I will go with the Count, and bring back whatever you need from Bonta.” Shibu offered. 

“That’s very generous, My Darling. But Cici is preparing for the spring time hunt. She has to be here the next few days at least, to help stock the village with fresh meat.”

Shibu nodded slowly. He already knew there was no more important duty to a Cra than providing for those they loved. As Shibu considered all of this, it slowly dawned on the dark-haired boy that he really was going to Bonta, for the very first time. But he would go all alone.

Felice could see the uncertainty flicker into Shibu’s limpid blue eyes.

“I know it’s a big job, Shibu.” Felice told him in a calm, steady voice. “But I can’t go, and you already know as much as I can teach you about making and selling potions. I’m counting on you to do what is best for the three of us, Shibu, my bright Sea Dragon.” Felice told Shibu.

That was all it took. Once Shibu knew he could help someone, he knew he had made the right choice when he obeyed his feelings.

“Don’t worry Mother.” Shibu said with a renewed and slightly saucy confidence. “The Count and I will be fine.”

Shibu stuck out his chest and raised his head a bit. He was hiding his own fear deep down inside for her sake. But when Felice saw his pose and heard the youthful voice full of enthusiasm, her own fear melted away like ice and snow in full springtime.

“It’s settled then!” The Count interjected. “Go on now, and pack your things Shibu. “But don’t bring too much. All the clothing and the other things you need, we shall get when we arrive in Bonta.” Maxim told a bouncy Shibu as the sprightly boy in the long hat fairly vaulted over every piece of furniture in the room. But then he stopped where he stood, and turned to speak to Maxim again. “May I bring a few books, Your Excellency?’ The boy asked.

“You may, but there are miles of books in Bonta and you shall have your pick of all of them, I promise you.”

“Ya-hoo!” Interjected Shibu in sheer elation. But then he shrank back a bit. “I meant to say “Thank you, Your Excellency.”

“Think nothing of it, Shibu. I’m glad you’re so happy. Run along now and get ready while Felice and I talk some business.”

Shibu nodded enthusiastically, and practically flew into the bedroom, where Felice kept his things. 

“Thank you so very much Your Excellency. Your generosity has made Shibu as happy as I have ever seen him. For that, I am indeed in your debt.” Felice said, now speaking in a more sober and measured tone of voice.

“Think nothing of it. Shibu is brilliant. That much would be obvious to a blind man. And when the King of Bonta meets Shibu, who knows what may happen for him.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency for helping us realize the very best for our Dear Shibu.”

“Noblesse Oblige, Dear Felice. What I do for Shibu I also do for the Kingdom of Bonta, to which I am ever loyal.” Maxim replied. “Besides” The nobleman continued with a slight shift in his manner and voice, “I look forward to watching Shibu in action. I feel quite certain that he will conquer Bonta like no one before him ever has. Never fear, he will be himself, as always, and shine brighter than all the precious metal in Bonta.”

Just then, Shibu’s smiling face appeared around the corner of his bedroom door. “Should I take my bow, and quiver, Your Excellency?” the dark haired boy asked.

“You may take them, but you cannot use them inside the city itself. Do you know what a “Peace bond” is, Shibu?” The Count asked.

“Yes, said Shibu, slightly dejected. He knew it meant that a bow could only be carried inside Bonta if it were unstrung, and the string itself sealed to the riser of the bow with a special wax. If that wax seal was found broken, his bow would be confiscated, and he might go to jail. But at heart, Shibu was also Cra, and no Cra would ever willingly be without his bow.

“I’ll take the bow, but I will seal the string.” Shibu announced after a moment to consider the problem.  
The Count smiled in honest admiration of the Boy’s simple, direct wisdom.

“Great stars!” Is there anything our boy does not know?” Maxim wondered aloud to Felice.

“A large part of his life has been reading, Your Excellency. That is why I am so grateful to you for giving Shibu the chance and the trust to do something, rather than just to read about it.” Felice confessed.

“Don’t worry, Felice. Shibu is ready. It will be grand fun for both of us to see if Bonta is prepared for Shibu.” The Count replied with an oily tone and a strange smile.

“I will take my leave of both of you, for now. I too have things to prepare for the trip home.” Maxim said, rising smoothly from where he was seated. He bowed in return to Felice’s curtsy, and tipping his hat to her, he strode away from their home back toward the Inn across the green.


	13. The Open Road

Once he was out of sight on the village green, Maxim sidestepped quickly along the outside wall of the inn. No one in the village took any notice of him as he walked silently toward the stables.  
For once, he was truly delighted to see his brown-robed canine servant standing beside a familiar wagon hitched to a pair of mean looking sheep.

“My work here is done, my canine friend. Shibu has agreed to come to Bonta with us, and bring along a chest full of expensive healing potions as an additional prize!” Maxim related with delight in his soft whisper. Go up to our rooms, and pack our things.” Maxim instructed. “After you’re done that, say our good-byes, and then, we collect our real prize.”

“As you wish, Master.” The canine servant replied mechanically.

As the pair parted ways, Maxim allowed himself one last look around the quaint little village that had yielded up more wealth than he would’ve ever dreamed possible. The nobleman wasn’t the sentimental sort, but he would always remember this place, and the fortune that fate itself seem to waive under his aristocratic nose.

As there was no one to do the work for him, Maxim used both his voice, and the thick leather harness that bound the sheep together to control and guide them both as the wagon they pulled made their way along the curving path beside the green which led to Shibu’s front door.  
This time, rather than dismount and walk into the house so freely, Maxim kept his place. Out of the small kernel of goodness in his heart, he decided to allow mother and adoptive son to say their goodbyes in private.

Shibu ducked out of his favorite book lined room, carrying a knapsack nearly as big as he was! Felice seemed to mix gentle laughter and tears, as she helped Shibu to repack only the essentials, as the Count had expected him to do.

Even as she went thru the motions of seeing that Shibu had everything he could possibly need for the trip, Felice felt somehow numb and distant from the scene in which she found herself. It required the greatest effort of her life to smile at Shibu, and speak to him with hope and optimism in her eyes and in her heart, rather than tears.

“Oh my darling boy! You look so wonderful!” Felice told him with a happy smile as she looked into his radiant blue eyes.

Shibu smiled in return as only Shibu could, and Felice had to swallow hard to keep her eyes from filling with tears. 

“Mom. I know you’re going to worry, because you’re my mother. But try not to worry too much. I’ll be back before you know it, with the rest of the gold, and a Royal warrant for more potions.” Shibu said confidently.

“I know you will, dear, I just know it. I’ll miss your smile and your laughter for a while, but when you come back, I’ll be all the happier, and not just for the gold, or the warrant.” Felice told him while clasping both of his hands in hers. Shibu’s hands were larger, and much rougher than those of the baby she had held so many years ago. The Enripsa healer wondered where all the years had gone, but suddenly, she was too happy to cry, because she had such a wonderful boy to make her feel so good.

The very last item she entrusted to Shibu’s care was also one of the most valuable. It was one of the venerable old wooden potion chests. The one with ornate brass corner pieces, shining golden hinges, and the lock that was almost as big as one of Shibu’s hands.

“These are the potion samples, my dear.” Felice told Shibu. “And this is the key to the chest.” As Felice continued, she drew out from behind her back a large golden key that was tied to a long loop of velvet, wonderfully soft and deeply purple. The key seemed to settle around his neck as if it had always belonged there, for as long as Felice could remember.

“I love you Shibu, and I trust you too. I know you’ll do our family proud.” Felice told Shibu as she folded him into a tender hug.

Shibu did the same, holding Felice close and gentle as he whispered in her ear.

“I love you too, Mom. And Cici too. I hope she isn’t too mad that I left before she could say goodbye. Tell her I have my bow and quiver, and that while we travel, I’ll keep everyone safe and fed along the way, just the way she taught me.”

“Cici would be so proud of you, Shibu. She loves you exactly as much as I do. I’ll tell her that you’ll be back soon, with many good stories to tell us around the summertime campfires.”

As they parted, Felice had something else for Shibu. The Enripsa healer held out two familiar potion bottles to Shibu.

“Here, Dear. Keep these handy too, just in case.”  
Shibu smiled, and tucked the crystal bottles into each of the two pockets of his rough leather traveling outfit.

Felice smiled warmly and kissed Shibu gently on his nose.

“Be careful, Dearest Heart. And when in doubt, remember what Cici taught you. At heart, you're a Ranger, from now on.”

“But I'm also a healer, too.” Shibu replied. “And I'm just as proud of that.”

Felice couldn't and didn't resist the impulse to hug her boy close, just one more time.

“Mom, there's one more thing I need to do before we leave.” Shibu confessed in his usual quiet voice. “I have to go see Dylan for a minute or two.” 

Felice made a point of rising from her potion maker's bench, and fluttering over to embrace her son warmly. “I knew you'd remember, Shibu, I just knew it!” Felice told him with a rising note of pride in her voice. 

“You go on, dear. And take as long as you like. Count Maxim and Bonta will wait, I promise.” 

“Thanks Mom, you are the best, and I'm going to miss you the most.” Shibu answered brightly as he pivoted on his toes and made the striding step that was the beginning of the Ranger run. 

Vaulting across the Village Green, Shibu’s stride reduced what was normally a five minute walk for any of the villagers to just over a minute of travel time for himself. 

He needed only a half-dozen long strides, including two to slow himself down, to find himself standing on the threshold of the porch outside his best friend's house. 

“Hello in the house!” Shibu called out brightly. Almost before the words have left his mouth, a familiar Ecaflip figure made his own vault, smoothly thru the wide open double front doors, sailing across the porch, and directly at Shibu. 

“Hey Superstar! Nice of you to come visit!" Dylan said energetically as he took Shibu into a playful headlock, and tousled the top of his unusual hat gently as always. 

“What's shaking, brother Ranger?” Dylan inquired, as he let Shibu go, and made a show of brushing him off lightly, with good humor as he spoke. 

“Dylan, we have to talk.” Shibu replied in a somewhat quieter and more confidential tone. 

Dylan's youthful face instantly became more serious. 

“Let's take a walk, and look at the trees.” Dylan replied clapping an arm gently around Shibu shoulder. 

The pair both went up on their toes, and made a quick dash for the glade where Cici had always taken Shibu for archery practice. 

Together, the two boys sat down close to each other on one of the ancient oak stumps that were the Center of the forest clearing.

“Dylan, I need to ask you something.” Shibu told him in a quieter more subdued voice, more typical of a Ranger. 

“For my best buddy?” Dylan replied enthusiastically. “You say, I do!” 

That made Shibu smile, at just the moment he needed to smile. 

“Count Maxim has invited me to come to Bonta with him.” Shibu replied, sounding even more quiet then before. 

Dylan's dark eyes instantly grew to the size of saucers! 

“That's brilliant! You can scout ahead for us for when we win the championship, and have to go that way ourselves. Dylan answered up quickly. 

“I need a favor from you.” Shibu repeated more quietly, to tone down the excitement which Dylan seem to feel as much as Shibu did.

“Anything Shibu, and I mean it.” Dylan answered, instantly more serious, as he recognized his friends quiet, serious tone of voice. 

“This township will need a Ranger here while I'm away. Cici will need the help, once the spring hunt is finished in a few days time. I would stay, but count Maxim wants to leave right away.” 

“Count on me, good buddy.” Dylan replied with an easy and confident tone, matched buy a broad smile. “I'll keep an eye on everything here, while you are taking Bonta by storm!”

“I knew I could count on you, Dylan, because I know you are the best. But there's something else I need to tell you, Ranger to Ranger.” 

“Go on Shibu.” 

“It's about count Maxim.” Shibu replied slowly. “Something strange. A feeling I can't put into words.”

“A bad feeling?” Dylan wanted to know. 

“Not exactly. “Shibu replied quickly. “He hasn't done anything bad since he's been here. But something deep down tells me that something is not right.” Shibu answered.” 

“Then, what?” Dylan wanted to know. 

“That's just it.” Shibu answered. “I can't really say anything to anyone. He's a noble, but I feel something strange when he gets close to me. Something almost-- evil. 

“And you are going to travel with this man to Bonta?” Dylan asked, pushing on the question slightly as he spoke to his best friend. 

“I can't help it. He Hasn't done anything bad, not since he's been here, anyway. And the Royal warrant he promises is something mom has been waiting for her entire life. If I don't go, she will, and Dylan, the truth is something tells me she shouldn't go anywhere with Count Maxim.”

“Hey Shibu, if you think this guy is some kind of crook, let's tell Cici, and the three of us can take him down.” 

“I have no proof, Dylan. Just a feeling. Accusing a noble of a crime without evidence is a crime itself. 

Dylan put his chin in his hands, his dark eyes part way open as he thought things over. 

“There's only one thing You can do, superstar.” Dylan said at last.   
“If Maxim is planning something, it won't happen here, it may happen in Bonta. When and if it does happen, folks in Bonta will need all the help they can get, and we both know that means you.” Dylan said quietly, and then he fell silent to watch his best friend’s expression as Shibu thought things over. 

“If I run into any trouble, I'll send an arrow for both Cici and for you.” Shibu said quietly at last.

“We will back you up, Shibu, count on it. You know Cici would say the same thing, and do the same thing if she was here.” 

Shibu smiled. “If Cici we're here, she'd pin Count Maxim to a tree with a dozen arrows, just because I didn't trust him.” 

Dylan smiled in return. “She would at that, Shibu.” 

“But the only way to be sure of what's going on one way or another is for you to make the trip, as much to keep an eye on him as anything else. Dylan concluded.

Shibu nodded with resolution, and Dylan smiled as he saw the usual self-confident look return to his best friend’s face.

“Thanks, Dylan. Shibu said, still speaking in his softer forest voice. “You’re the best.”

“No, that would be you, Shibu.” I’m just lucky enough to have you to inspire me.” Dylan shot back as quickly as an arrow. “Watch yourself while you’re watching him, Okay Pal?” Dylan shot Shibu an upturned thumb as he spoke. 

“Dylan, I-- Shibu began to say.

“Go on now, and see that no one steals Bonta while everyone is watching you.” Dylan said to Shibu quietly before Shibu turned, went up on his toes, and was out of sight in a single, long stride.

Shibu ran back to the house feeling like there was an api caught in his throat. But this time, Shibu took a roundabout path that let him enter his house from the back rather than the front, where he felt that someone had been watching his house.

Felice embraced him warmly, driving away the moment of cold fear he had struggled with in the forest.

“Love you Mom.” Shibu said softly.

“I love you too, my bright Sea Dragon.” Felice replied tenderly. “All ready, now?” She asked.

Shibu could not say anything more, so he smiled bravely and nodded.

Felice swept Shibu into another hug, and just held onto her boy.

Then, there was the sound of a wagon drawing up outside.

“Hello the house!” Came a familiar aristocratic voice from outside on the edge of the green. “Are you ready, Shibu?”  
Shibu had to pause, and inhale deeply to find voice enough to answer back.

“I’ll be right along, Your Excellency!” Shibu finally managed to call back without his voice cracking.

Felice looked at him and smiled, as warm as the morning sunshine. “Go on now dear, and I’ll see you soon for a welcome home party.”

Shibu nodded, in part to get the tears out of his eyes. Then he forced himself into a fast walk that became a run toward the front door, so his melting heart couldn’t stick his unique shoes to the floor where he stood. He collected his reduced backpack and slipped it on, still unable to speak.

Shibu paused to fetch the potion chest, and to pickup his now sealed bow, and without looking back, Shibu ran out of the open door.  
Without lowering the wagon gate, Shibu took one hop step and jump, and he found himself in the rear of the wagon. In two long strides over and around the potion chest, Shibu appeared up front, sitting next to the large canine. The silent wagon driver eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but then turned his attention back to the team, and let out a two toned whistle.

Once they were moving, Shibu didn’t look back. Because he didn’t want his mother to see the tears rolling down his cheeks as the wagon followed the curving path around the edge of the green, out of the village, and onto the main road at the edge of the woods.

“You know the wells, Boy?” The gruff canine asked him.

“Sure, every well between here and Emelka.” Shibu answered, showing no trace of fear.

“Good. The sheep will want water and fodder as we go.” The canine half growled at him.

“Don’t be so rude to our young guest.” Replied a smooth voice from the rear of the wagon. “I’m sure Shibu will be of more help on the road than you will be.”

The Canine teamster seemed to take the insult out on Shibu. “Can blue eyes drive a wagon?” he asked gruffly, looking at Shibu with a mean sidelong glance.

“Not yet, but I’ll learn.” Shibu said smartly.

The Count’s hearty laughter echoed thru the back of the wagon, “Well spoken, Shibu. Once you learn how, you and he will take turns, so we can travel by night as well. It’s two days and nights to Bonta from here.” The Count explained.

“I’ll help all I can, Your Excellency.” Shibu answered. “I want to be more than baggage on this trip.”

“You need not worry so much.” The Count answered. You’ll get plenty of food and rest too. We have much to do when we arrive in Bonta.” The Count told Shibu.

“For now, you know these woods better than both of us, Shibu. Please make certain we don’t get lost.”

“As you wish, Your Excellency.”

“You may address me as Maxim, now that we are traveling companions, My fine lad. “I’ll call you Shibu. Using titles in the wrong sort of place might mean we meet the wrong sort of people.” Maxim explained.

“For now, if anyone asks other than an official, we are Uncle and Nephew. Does that suit you, Shibu?”

“Yes, Uncle Maxim, I understand.” Shibu answered quickly.

“Felice was right, you certainly are a bright one, Shibu. And you can think as quickly as you move. Admirable indeed. I say.” Maxim said,

“Thank you, Uncle Max!” Shibu replied quickly.

The nobleman smiled broadly in return.

“The cargo of your mother’s potions could be worth a lot of money to the wrong sort of people, Shibu.” Maxim told him. If others think the three of us are common folks, we’re less likely to be robbed.”

“Robbed?” Shibu asked, as if he’d never heard the word before.

“Yes, when bad people take your things without your permission.”

“Just let someone try that!” Shibu said with an odd half smile. “Cici taught me what Rangers do to poachers!” Shibu replied with a hint of swagger.

“I’ll bet she did, Shibu. “ Maxim replied. “But we can’t fight all the bad people we may meet between here and Bonta, so we’ll just be regular folks on our way to the City, All right for now?”

“All right, Uncle Max. I won’t start trouble, I promise. But if trouble finds us, I can finish trouble too.”

“I’ll just bet you can, Shibu. For now, come back here and lay down for a while. In two hours, I’ll give you your first lesson as a wagon driver, so that Fel can sleep too.

“Fel?” Shibu repeated “That’s his name?”

The Canine teamster let out a low half growl in Shibu’s direction.

“Fel is a good name, Honest!” Shibu said quickly.

Just then Shibu saw the brown dog smile, just a little, for the first time ever.

Part of the bed of the wagon was lined with a soft layer of fleece, and several wool blankets. They felt a bit scratchy at first, but the gentle rocking motion as the wagon rattled along soon lulled Shibu into a comfortable sleep.

Maxim stepped carefully over Shibu, to join Fel up front. 

“See, My Friend?” Maxim gloated, as he whispered softly to the canine. “As easy as candy, and twice as sweet. And see to it you stay that way to Shibu, Understand?”

This time, Fel didn’t speak or growl. The brown dog only nodded silently. Maxim consulted a map he unrolled from a soft leather tube kept behind the driver’s bench of the wagon.

“Keep straight on this path until we hit the well just outside Emelka. It should be two hours or so of blissful silence.’

“Yes, Uncle Max!” Fel repeated in a gruff voice with an impertinent smile.

Maxim took the rolled up map, and lashed his servant lightly across one shoulder.

“Drive!” the aristocrat in the black boots growled sourly in response. “I don’t want to be late for our charming little rendezvous.”


	14. Guests

Twilight and instinct woke Shibu before either Fel or the Count.  
He was instantly awake, and with one quick step up and forward, he was looking between the two of them as they peered into the dense and increasingly foreboding forest.

For Shibu, it was all as familiar as the Green at the center of his village. Cici had marched him and his bow all the way to Emelka and back again on moonless nights with only the stars to guide them both.

“We’re nearly to Emelka!” Shibu piped up brightly, instantly recognizing both the forest and the trees. “They have an inn there that makes the best Gobball Stew ever!”

For just a moment, even the dour Count Maxim had to admit that the thought of a comfortable bed, and a warm dish of food had a certain irresistible appeal.

But Count Maxim had other plans for this evening, more out of necessity than desire. So the nobleman discreetly but firmly shook his head no.

“We should push on after stopping at the well to water the sheep. Bonta won’t come any closer on its own if we stop.”

Fel, who had begun to salivate at the thought of warm stew wiped his muzzle on his sleeve, while silently casting his eyes down with regret.

“Besides, if you want to get to the Meadows by morning, you know we have to cross the forest by night.” Count Maxim informed them both.  
Shibu nodded, even as his stomach issued a loud growl of protest.

“The water from this well is very good. It should refresh us, and the sheep too.” Shibu told his friends.

“Need to stop, to feed the sheep anyway.” Fel groused out loud.

“The best journeys are the swiftest journeys.” Count Maxim retorted somewhat sharply. “If we don’t stop now, by this time tomorrow, will be in sight of Bonta, and everything the city can offer, including my hospitality.” The nobleman explained, as if he was talking down his nose to a peasant.

Fel’s response was to loudly snap the reigns on the leather harness, stirring the sheep to continue pulling.

“They’re going to get awfully mean if they miss their supper.” The canine teamster worried out loud. Count Maxim seem to ignore him, but Shibu was listening.

“Is it time to switch yet?”

Fel grunted. He could use some water, some jerky, and some sleep, since he now seemed sure that was all he was going to get.

“You know this land, blue eyes.” The canine grunted. “Draw water from the well near Emelka. Fill the cask on the side of the wagon. Wake me in two hours.” Fel told him curtly as he passed the reigns from himself to Shibu who slid over, excited to take the reins.

“Don’t worry.” Count Maxim said to his canine retainer. “I think Shibu knows the way better than both you and the sheep put together.”

The thought made the nobleman smile. Count Maxim already knew that Fel would be wide-awake long before two hours had passed.

Shibu had walked to this well so many times that he could find it in pitch blackness, walking backward, and blindfolded all at the same time.

Water from this well was the dark-haired boy’s reward for a successful night march with Cici at his side. On special occasions, if they arrived at the well after the moon had set, the two of them would spend a few Kamas, and take a room until sunrise at the Emelka Inn.

But Shibu didn’t think he would be so lucky tonight. The moon was high and full casting a bright light over everything normally draped in nighttime shadow.

Shibu had no problem controlling the pair of wild gobballs that were barely straining to pull the heavy wagon. They were a strange set, incumbered by both leather and brass fittings on a heavy leather harness which kept them where they were supposed to be.

Shibu didn’t need to speak a word of command to get the two sheep to halt as the shadowy outline of the well rose into view. All that he needed to do was to snap the heavy rains loudly. The sound itself work better than the cruelty of the whip, of the sort which the canine teamster had lost in Shibu’s home village.

Shibu was the first one down, hopping off the wagon, to take the wooden lid from the water cask on the driver side. Inside the wooden barrel was a large pot. The utensil was cast iron, equipped with a flimsy tin handle. It had obviously seen much service, for its black surface was streaked with heavy brown rust.

Looking at the iron pot, Shibu tried to figure out quickly how many trips it would take him to fill the water cask. He quickly decided not to think so much about the number of the trips. It made life easier as he strode toward the well under the full moon to draw the first water from the well.

Along about the tenth repetitive trip back and forth between the wagon and the well, Shibu looked up at Count Maxim and asked an obvious question.

“Have you got a long pole, and two wooden buckets?” Shibu asked, already sounding tired enough to need more sleep.

Count Maxim smiled at once. He already understood what the intelligent blue-eyed boy had worked out for himself.

“As a matter of fact, I do. The pole and the buckets are in the very back of the wagon, lashed to the gate.” The Count replied with a wide smile that reflected brighter in the moonlight.

Shibu quickly returned to the wagon, and dropped the rusted pot deliberately into the soft grass off to one side. With his hands free, he could make a quick grab for the pole, the buckets, and lastly the heavy leather strap that held all three of them to the gate. Shibu collected them, walked a few steps, and then plopped himself contentedly into the slightly damp grass just a few steps from the well.

Count Maxim watched with admiration, as Shibu lashed the iron handles of the buckets to each end of the long pole. When the dark-haired boy stood up, he tucked the pole across his shoulders, behind his neck.

From the way Shibu moved, the nobleman could tell that Shibu was in his element. Shibu could now dip first one bucket and then the other into the well by shifting the length of the pole across his shoulders as he turn first to the left, and then to face the right. He walked back toward the water cask on this trip with ten times the water that the battered iron pot could hold. Shibu bent low, and slid the pole across his shoulders once again, expertly pouring first one bucket, and then turning easily to repeat the motion and pour out the other into the cask.

Very few things really impressed the jaded nobleman, who all the while retained his seat at the front of the wagon, on the bench next to where Shibu had been sitting.

“Someone would think you’ve done this before, Shibu.” Count Maxim commented with a smile and a sly wink.

“I prime the pump at home with two buckets, just like this every morning, right after I wake up.” Shibu explained, returning the Count’s smile.

Without stopping, Shibu sprinted toward the well once again, to pick up more water. Count Maxim couldn’t help but notice the fluid nature of Shibu’s own movements as he made a long and dreary task seem like a bit of nighttime fun!

What had normally taken Fel an entire hour to do with the iron pot, Shibu accomplished in less than a quarter of that time. All while the canine retainer slept soundly in the rear of the wagon.

The pair of wild sheep hitched to the wagon took care of their own fodder, grazing on the long grass near the well, while Shibu concentrated on filling the water cask. He set the lid on it, and then returned to the rear of the wagon, to replace the long pole and the pair of buckets where he had found them, lashed to the rear gate of the wagon. And after a moment of thought, Shibu even collected the old pot. For him, it was pure reflex, as no Ranger would ever leave something like it behind them to despoil the virgin forest.

Just as Shibu began tying down the pole to a pair of pegs on the rear gate, the blue-eyed boy felt the hair on the back of his neck rise suddenly in the moonlit shadows.

Four, no, six of them. 

Three appeared behind him, lurking in the trees across from the well. Three more, out ahead of them, near where the sheep were grazing, as far off the road as their leather harness would permit.

Shibu felt his fingers wrap securely around the wooden pole once again, and take it from the pegs and its leather binding. Holding the pole, he walked around the drivers corner of the end of the wagon, using the pole as if it was a staff which he needed to help him walk.

Count Maxim saw Shibu hobble slowly into the corner of his vision. To any onlooker, Shibu's figure would seem weak, as the boy now appeared to be lame in one leg.

The nobleman began to look over at Shibu with a questioning look on his face.

Quickly, the blue-eyed boy put a finger gently to his lips, making not a sound himself as he pointed behind him with his free hand, and then casually held up three fingers. Shibu’s next gesture was to swing the end of the pole down, and use it as a pointer as he walked along, holding up three fingers once again as he pointed ahead.

The Count understood Shibu signs at once. Three figures behind, and three ahead of the wagon. Before Shibu could reach the lead bar at the front of the harness, six shadowy figures formed a circle, surrounding the wagon and the team!

Shibu kept walking, in spite of the fact that there was now no chance to lead the wagon and the team out of the trap. His goal now was to step far enough away from the wagon before the group revealed itself to allow him to swing the pole. Shibu managed two steps ahead and to the side of the wagon, before a scratchy voice seem to come from every tree surrounding the well.

“Look at little boy lost!” The voice said in a snide tone.  
“Poor Lil’ guy probably forgot his way back to the Inn!” replied another echo.

Shibu stood his ground, keeping both hands on the pole, seeming to hold himself up with it. He knew that he had to wait until just the right moment.

Shibu heard a familiar creaking. He didn’t need his eyes to see Count Maxim slowly getting off of the bench, and onto his feet. Thru it all, Shibu could still hear Fel snoring loudly in the bed of the wagon.

Cici had taught Shibu to use all his senses. Together, he could now tell where the three figures facing the wagon were. One was behind the tree a few paces ahead. The other two were up in the tree itself, crouched as if ready to spring like cats from the lowest branches of the same tree.

“Go on your way, whoever you are.” Count Maxim spoke up sternly. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“And you’ll have none, Rich man. As long as you give us everything you have.” One of the scratchy voices told the nobleman.

“You dare attack a Bontarian?” Count Maxim fumed. “I tell you again, go on your way.”

“Pay us a toll, and we’ll consider letting you off.” Another voice said. This one spoke up from behind the wagon.

“Let us take the young one, and we will let you go.” The voice up ahead spoke again. “We can always sell another slave, even a lame one will bring a few Kama.”

“We could eat for a month, selling off that skinny brat.” A forth voice chimed in. “Give him to us, and you are free to go. If not, we’ll take him anyway, along with everything else you have.”

“Try it.” A new voice spoke up. 

It was Shibu. It was also a challenge he knew the bandits could not resist.

“There’s more fight in the lame one than in the rich man.” One voice replied. “You had your chance rich man. Now you’ll pay our price.”

Shibu felt the air around him move as one of the bandits in the tree jumped down from the limb above. The other bandit who was up high used the limb like a spring, and dove right at Shibu!

Shibu planted the pole firmly into the softer grassy ground at his feet, and used it like a hinge, swinging around on it as he pulled himself up tall again. As he came around the pole turned staff, he felt his kicking foot smash solidly into something softer than the shoes he wore.

The darkness around him was torn with a sharp cry of pain and surprise, then Shibu heard something heavy land with a thud on the ground nearby.

One down. He thought to himself.

As soon as his feet touched down again, Shibu swung the pole up above his head quickly. A dark figure bumped into him hard. There was a sudden glint of metal in the moonlight, as the makeshift staff stopped a hand swinging downward with a dagger.

Shibu relaxed, and slipped under the pressing figure, this time kicking for the bandit’s ankles! He lashed out, and there was a solid crack like a small branch breaking. Another sharp cry of pain went up in the moonlight as the second shadow fell and seemed to vanish for the moment.

Two. Shibu thought to himself. Where was the thi--?

Shibu never finished the thought, as something solid shoved him hard from behind, and he went tumbling thru space across the grass.

Tuck and roll. It was an instinct as simple and automatic as breathing.

Rolling on the soft, slightly wet grass softened the blow, and kept Shibu from being badly hurt. He still clutched the pole become staff, and as he rolled to a stop in the grass, face down, he was close enough to see one of the figures in black reach for his staff.

Shibu rolled quickly to his left, just beyond the black figure’s grasp, and whipped the staff upward sharply. The air close to Shibu was filled with a satisfying crunch!  
Shibu never stopped moving, bringing the end of the pole around and driving it hard between a yellow pair of eyes that were suddenly as close as his nose! Shibu struck hard. The tip of the pole caught the haunting yellow-eyed face just above where the nose should have been, directly between the eyes!

The black face with the yellow eyes seemed to ripple and then fade away, like a reflection in water.

Three. Shibu thought. But there were three more, now behind him!

Shibu sprang to his feet like a Bow Meow. He shifted his weight, and pivoted on his toes. He looked quickly toward the wagon. Sure enough, a trio of shadows flickered in the moonlight, closing in on the rear of the wagon. Shibu lowered the pole, and sprinted toward the wagon.

He felt someone familiar sweep by him, as the flash of Count Maxim’s epee caught Shibu’s eye.

Shibu drove the other end of the pole out and down, so it stuck in the soft ground. It was an off balance vault, but enough to send Shibu sailing thru the air toward the soft top on the wagon! He landed solid, and balanced on the chests protected by the cloth cover of the wagon bed. Reflex made Shibu recoil, and the blue-eyed figure brought the pole around with a snap of his wrist.

Suddenly plunged into total darkness, Shibu “saw” thru a light as blue as his own eyes. It was as if each of the three remaining bandits glowed in the dark!

And Once Shibu could see them, he could hit them.

So he did. As fast and as hard as he could.

There was a solid cracking sound as Shibu’s staff lashed the top of the head just below him! Shibu saw the figure melt away, as the blue light outlining him became dimmer,

Two left.

Or in this case, one on each side. But before Shibu could react, there was someone else glowing blue in his vision.

A Large square head with floppy ears!

Fel’s growl wasn’t as much a sound of annoyance as it was an eruption of anger.

In his blue-lit vision, Shibu saw two large furry hands reach out, and grab the two remaining bandits. The figures were pulled up and into the bed of the wagon, which suddenly began to rock, violently. So much so that Even Shibu lost his sure footing for a moment, just before he saw two figures come sailing out of the end of the wagon as if shot from a cannon!

One of the two bumped hard against the tree nearest the end of the wagon, while the other landed with a thud at the base of the tree, and the night once again fell silent.

Shibu lowered the end of the pole to the soft grass beside the wagon, and taking a hold on it, slid down the pole to stand beside Count Maxim, whose sword was still drawn.

“Never fear, Shibu. They are finished.” The nobleman said quietly.

As the tension left him, The blue light within his vision faded, and Shibu sank to a cross-legged seat in the soft grass, still holding tightly to the pole that had been his staff. 

Only then did Shibu notice that he was panting, and that the pole in his hand was shaking so much Shibu couldn’t hold it still.  
Only when a large furry paw fell lightly on Shibu’s shoulder was the dark-haired boy steady, still, and calm again.

“Easy, Blue Boy. You hurt?” Fel asked.

Shibu gave up his grip on the pole as Fel took it from him, and replaced it on the gate of the wagon.

Shibu drew his first deep breath in what seemed like a whole day.

“I’m all Right, Fel, thanks for your help.” Shibu replied.

“Stupid bandit pulled my tail.” Fel grunted, As the large dog paused to scoop up the fallen bandits, one under each arm.

“You want these, Master?” Fel asked in Count Maxim’s direction.

“Pile them up with the others.” The Count replied. “When they wake, they might provide some amusement and then some information.” Maxim replied now sounding more than a bit tired.

Shibu rose from where he sat, standing steady again, and began to walk toward the village beyond the well.

“Shibu? The Count inquired.

“I don’t trust these bandits. I’m going to fetch the night watch.”

“Stout lad!” The Count replied hardly missing a beat. ”We’ll watch over this lot, until you return.”

Five minutes later, Shibu was back, leading a line of heavily armored men. One guard for each of the six bandits.  
When the leader of the guard saw the pile of bandits, he and his men came to a shocked halt before the scene.

“Hay there, the boy was right!” the gruff officer remarked.

“Well polish my halberd, it’s the Shadow Bandits! All of them!” Another soldier spoke up.

Count Maxim stepped forward, and took charge.

“Indeed they are, Sergeant. Bandits one and all. Take them away, and show them the hospitality of your finest cell.” The Count said.

“And who are you, Sir?” the officer of the guard asked.

“I am Count Maxim, a Nobleman of Bonta, my good Captain.

”The entire guard detachment snapped to attention. “By your leave, Your Excellency, we shall do our duty.” The captain of the Guard replied formally.

“Did Your Excellency do battle with all of these?” One of the guardsmen asked politely.

“No, Sir, I did but little. If you would seek a hero find Shibu there.” The nobleman replied.

“Shi-who, Your Excellency?”

The B-“ The Count began to reply, but stopped short when he realized that Shibu was no where to be seen!

“Fel? Where is Shibu?” the nobleman inquired brusquely.

“There, Master.” The Canine answered simply. The canine indicated the wagon with a jerk of his stubby thumb.

Before Maxim could offer any more explanation, the quiet of the night was broken again.

This time, by a loud snoring coming from inside the wagon!

“Take them away, Captain. We shall linger here until morning, to see that these evil ones are charged, and that my entourage is properly rested.”

“As you wish, Your Excellency. Rooms shall be opened for you at our Inn. We shall see to your needs and comfort while you are here.” The leader of the Watch told the Nobleman.

A few moments later, after the guard led the bandits away, Fel scooped up Shibu and the duo walked toward the Inn for the night.


	15. New Day

Shibu felt himself stretch out long and deep, completely relaxed and very comfortable. It was the sort of sensation that forced him awake immediately. He opened his eyes to find himself relaxed on a wooden frame bed with a thick mattress and tight ropes beneath him, and a thick wool blanket, dense and scratchy, over the top of him.

He sat up in bed quickly, half surprised, expecting to find bandits all around him.

“Careful blue boy.” A gruff and familiar voice growled at him. “We are safe, at the Inn, and the bandits are in jail.”

Shibu looked over to see Fel sitting backwards astride a chair that had been turned to face the wall. “Come.” Fel said simply. “I want food, and so do you.” The canine said in a low, thick voice. “Master is waiting downstairs. He says when you wake up, we come down. Get ready.”

Fel turned his chair around to face a wooden table where the canine retainer was playing idly with a deck of Ecaflip cards.

Only then did Shibu glance under the blankets, and notice he was dressed as little as possible. His hat was there as always, but the clothing he normally wore, including his unique shoes, were nowhere to be found!

“What am I to wear, Fel?” Shibu asked, trying to suppress a mixture of surprise and panic.

Without looking away from the table, or his cards, Fel spoke to Shibu from across the room.  
“Closet, over there. New clothes for you, from the Master.”

Shibu peeled back the rough but comfortable blanket, and quickly hopped out of bed. The sun was already up, and casting a bright light into their second story room.

The closet door indicated was only a few steps away on the opposite side of the room from the bed.

Shibu quickly opened the door, and had his breath taken away by what he saw.

It was a set of clothes different from his comfortable daily wardrobe.

Shibu saw a fine linen shirt with a low collar, and small gold buttons down the front that would cover him from neck to waist. Hanging beside them on the wooden dowel was a pair of dark pants, entirely different from the lighter wraps he wore over his legs most of the time. 

He touched the strange pants cautiously at first, but when he felt the softness and the light quality of the material, he didn’t seem to mind so much that the pants would go down to his ankles. They were clearly too tight to do any sort of kicking, but the formality of the shirt and pants told Shibu that he might not be kicking anything again for a while.   
Shibu was relieved to see his normal clothes folded neatly on a shelf in the closet. He was happier yet to see his comfortable shoes on the floor of the closet, beneath the shelf.

Then Shibu noticed something familiar, and something different, which went along way to describe his new set of clothes altogether.

Sitting slightly to one side of the hanging pants was a new low-cut pair of shoes. The shape was instantly familiar to him, but the shoes were done in fine soft leather rather than layers of hide that wrapped his ankles. As he began to change clothes, Shibu was also shocked to notice that his body was clean, from the lowest edge of his hat, and even his ears, right down to his feet. They slid into the leather boots as if they had been made for him, exactly as Cici had made his familiar pair of shoes.

The fine linen of the shirt weighed no more than a cloud, and touched his bare skin as lightly as a noonday breeze. He left the shirt open as he sort of hopped to slide on the new pair of pants. These were soft, softer than combed animal fur, and what looked like a black color was really a deep and lustrous purple. They fit close to his skin, and buttoned easily up the front with gold buttons that matched those on the shirt. In the front of the pants, along each hip, Shibu quickly discovered what he had first thought were unintentional openings in the pants. But when he explored them with two fingers, he found that the small openings gave way to a small pouch made of satin sewn into the pants themselves. Shibu found himself surprised and delighted. Closer examination of the shirt revealed another pocket, just on the left-hand side. But this one contained a small soft square of the same linen material from which the shirt had been made.

Shibu knew what this was, as Aris also carried a handkerchief as part of his official mayoral uniform.

Shibu’s next task was to carefully button the shirt, so that both sides were even. In the end, the only button he could not fasten was the one for his collar, which was just a little too tight to be comfortable.

After he had finished dressing, Fel rose from his seat at the table across the room, and with a pair of gentle and surprisingly soft fingers expertly buttoned Shibu’s collar. The canine turned it down slightly so it would lay flat rather than rise up around his neck and in front of his chin. Shibu was instantly more comfortable and more confident still when Fel looked at him in his new clothes, and managed a small smile in the boy’s direction.

“Did you-?” Shibu began to ask.

Fel shook his head. “Enripsa treated your wounds. She gave measurements to tailor. Clothes are a gift from the Master and the Tailor.” Fel informed Shibu in very few words.  
“Come along.” The canine retainer added. “Master waits for us below. So does food.”

Shibu felt just a bit uneasy in his new outfit, but the offer of food was one that Shibu could not pass up. For some reason he didn’t quite understand, he was ravenously hungry.

If looking and feeling slightly silly would get him breakfast, Shibu was ready to make the sacrifice.

“All Right, Fel.” Shibu said summoning up his confidence. “All ready.”

Fel turned over one more card, the very last one, onto a precise arrangement of cards on the table. Then he looked over at Shibu and nodded. “Come along then. I’m Hungry, and the cards say to me that you are, too.”

Fel pushed back his chair and swung it around so it was facing the right way again, and then opened the door somewhat ceremoniously for Shibu.

Two steps put him at the very top of the staircase, one flight above the grand common room of the inn, which to Shibu surprise was packed with upturned and expectant faces.

As he peered down from the top of the stairs, many of the onlookers down below broke into happy cheers, whistles of approval, and polite applause!

It took just a small shove from Fel to get Shibu started on his way down the stairs so that the canine could come out as well. By the time Shibu reached the bottom of the staircase, the entire population of the inn was giving him a rousing round of applause!

Shibu held his ground for a moment, quite uncertain that he was the object of so much celebration. Then he spotted a familiar face on the edge of the crowd.

No one in the room was applauding louder or more enthusiastically than Count Maxim! The tall noble in the dark riding boots smiled even more broadly as he took in Shibu’s expression of surprise.

“Hello Shibu! I hope you slept well!” Maxim spoke up loudly enough to be heard over the polite acclamation of what seemed to be every villager in Emelka!

Before the Count could say anything more, another taller and slightly wider figure on the edge of the happy crowd held up a broad and heavy hand. Over the next several seconds, he waited as the polite applause from the assembled citizens gently died away into silence.

“Good morning Shibu. I hope we didn’t scare you with our show of gratitude. We just wanted to thank you for what you and your companions did for us last night.”

It took absolutely no effort for Shibu to understand that this was not only the village elder, but the owner of the inn as well. He was clearly another Enutrof, as he held a somewhat ornate, clearly more ceremonial Shovel in one hand as he spoke.

As the village elder paused, it was quite clear that Shibu was expected to say something in return. There was something of a long moment as Shibu gathered his thoughts.  
“It was nothing, really. But if it helped the village in any way, I’m glad. We would’ve done the same thing in my village. I’m always glad to help someone. Thank you so much for your fine gifts. You make a stranger feel very welcome.” Shibu said slowly, but speaking from the heart as he did so.

“You’re quite welcome, Shibu. His Excellency the Count has been kind enough to tell us what you did last night in the face of those bandits. They’ve been causing us trouble for almost a year now, and not even the best of the men in the village have been able to stand up to them the way you did last night.” The village Elder continued.

“My name is Eric, and while you’re here with your friends, or any time you ever come back, you can consider yourself completely at home.”

Count Maxim took an elegant step forward, relieving Shibu of the agony of further public speech. “Thank you Eric. We are all very glad to be here in the historic village of Emelka.” The nobleman began in a smooth and polished tone that could only come from a lifetime of speaking in public.

“This village was once the home of another renowned group of heroes.  
Many of you remember hearing those stories from your own grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Your generosity to our small company, and to our fine young Shibu has also been open-hearted and historic. Anything we have done to help make our second home a better place is certainly done in warm gratitude for your good feelings, and fine hospitality.”

“Enough talk for now!” said another tall, lean figure on the front edge of the crowd close to Shibu. “Let Shibu eat, before we starve him to death with speeches. Growing boys can’t run and play on words.”

The sentiment spoken by another village elder seemed to catch the mood of the crowd, who broke into another round of polite applause. This time it was Shibu who was ushered gently to a special seat at the head of a long table which ran the entire length of the common room of the inn!

Once the crowd parted, and Shibu had a full view of the table, he was even more surprised than he had been a moment before.

The boarding table was actually four tables next to each other, in a long line, and all four of them were stacked with the finest food that the village could offer!   
Long thin loaves of fresh bread, plate upon plate of fresh fruits, a roast Goball, with all the trimmings, larger than Shibu himself adorned the middle table. Around that, there were pastries, cakes, and pies of every kind, waiting to be washed down with what seemed to be an endless flow of fresh milk.

Shibu had never seen so much food in one place, not even in the yearly celebrations in his own village. As he approached his seat at the head of the long table, the rest of the crowd, including Count Maxim and Fel, took a communal step back.

“Go on Shibu, sit right down and tuck in.” Eric said with a tone of gentle encouragement and a big smile right at Shibu. “You get first helpings of as much as you want, and anything you’d like.”

Shibu had to sit down, because his knees almost buckled under the sight and the wonderful scent of so much wonderful food.

The truth was that he was absolutely ravenous, and everything spread out on the table before him seem to have an almost magical quality about it.

Without standing on ceremony, Shibu picked up his platter sized dinner plate, and made what was almost a running jump at The Roast Gobball!

Standing on either side of the imposing service as Shibu quickly approached, were a pair of waiters, wearing crisp white aprons.

All Shibu had to do was to stop where he stood, and offer up his plate. The pair of waiters carved for Shibu, expertly layering his plate with a rounded pile of succulent roast that would make as fine a dinner as it did a breakfast.

Shibu was careful and well mannered enough to bow to the servers, before continuing along the full length of the long table. He was careful to sample all the dishes on offer, and returned to his place with a first serving that might well have fed Fel and Count Maxim, as well as himself. But Shibu was given the chance to sit down first, followed by his friends, and then by the whole crowd, who fell in line behind Shibu to get their own breakfast as well.

Shibu started to sit down with his plate, but then he caught a glance from Count Maxim, who made a slightly uplifting gesture with one hand.

Shibu set his plate down on the table, but remain standing for just a moment, to speak to the assembled company, as gratitude demanded.

“Thank you all so much, for the fine clothes, and for the wonderful food. When you’re a long way from home, nothing feels quite so good as when new people become new friends. From now on, I have two homes. The same way another legendary visitor and his friends once did. I’ll always remember all of you, and if you need anything from me, you have only to ask, because I’ll always try to help my friends, and the people I care for. Thank you so much.”

“Bravo Shibu!” Eric said with warm approval. “Now, less talking, and more eating!”

There was a gentle round of applause along the length of the table at the offered sentiment, and the whole village dug into breakfast, along with the new local hero and his friends.

Breakfast became an event for the entire population of Emelka, and not just guests of the inn. As the meal progressed, more and more of the residents found their way to both the food, and a chance to meet the dark-haired boy who was the talk of the village.

Shibu seem to like everything and anything that was set before him, complementing every dish with words and the occasional loud burp! He would apologize at once, but for many of the residents who had worked to prepare the food, Shibu’s real enjoyment of it was their best compliment.

Count Maxim watched Shibu from a safe distance, at his own prominent place at the long table. Shibu didn’t bolt his food, or eat simply for the sake of showing off. But as the first hour of breakfast moved into the second, Maxim was truly impressed with the amount and quantity of food that Shibu truly seemed to need and to relish.

The nobleman was no stranger to children. He had none of his own as yet, but many of the retainers around his estate had large families of their own. But watching Shibu eat, led the nobleman to think to himself that he might be under-feeding some of his own people.

As more and more people at the long table began to eat their fill, and push back their chairs to begin the task of digestion, more and more of the leftover food seem to disappear from the tables. This was not entirely unexpected, as more meals loomed for the rest of the day in a busy village at large.

By the time Shibu had carefully decided he too had had enough, after seconds and thirds of most of the dishes on offer, he too pushed back his chair, and was rewarded with another ovation from the gathered crowd, most of whom had lingered just to meet Shibu, and to watch him eat!

The communal breakfast filled the first two hours of the morning, which seem to have been made a holiday throughout the village. Shibu found himself completely recharged after the events of the night before. So much so that he accepted an invitation to join his friends in an after breakfast shopping expedition around the village.

Shibu welcomed the chance to move around, as sitting for too long, even with good food before him, was difficult for any boy his age.

Emelka was half again as large as his own village, as well as being the well renowned home of another local hero, famous in song and story to the local residents.

Shibu's first stop was both required by etiquette, and controlled by curiosity. As he walked from shop to shop, being introduced to all the local merchants, each one produced a sort of small commemorative gift or talisman of some sort in gratitude for Shibu struggle against the bandits.

When the group came to the tailor shop, Shibu was ushered in quickly so that the seamstress could see the town’s new hero wearing some of her best work.

“Shibu, my young hero, you look absolutely glorious!”

Babette the seamstress gushed as she held Shibu gently by the shoulders to admire him from the top of his head all the way down to his toes. “Camilla wasn’t sure about some of the measurements, so I just made some good guesses here and there, based on what some folks told me, including His excellency the Count.” Babette explained, simply glowing with pride.

Do you like the shirt, and the pants? I made them from the very best material I had.”

“The shirt is as light as air. I’ve never worn anything like it. It’s almost like wearing nothing at all. It doesn’t slow me down or make me feel like I’m wearing too many clothes.” Shibu replied. “It’s so very comfortable.” Shibu added, not being at all insincere. Like most boys his age, Shibu had very little use for formal clothes that were stiff or heavy.

“And the pants.” Shibu remarked. “I’ve never felt anything so soft in all my life, except for a kiss from my mom. What are they made of?” Shibu wanted to know, for he loved encountering new things, and learning all he could about them.

“That, my handsomely dressed young hero, is velvet, with a lining of silk underneath, so it’s very light on your skin.” The seamstress explained proudly.

There really wonderful.” Shibu said earnestly. “Thank you so much, Miss Babette.”

“You’re welcome, you sweet boy. The only thing I’m sorry about is that Felice can’t be here to see you right now.” Babette replied simply beaming with happiness.

Shibu looked slightly surprised. “You know my mom?” Shibu asked.

“I suppose she never had a chance to talk about it much, but we went to school together when we were your age, Shibu.” Babette replied, with a mischievous twinkle in her bright blue eyes. “So when I heard your name, I knew right away who you were. And I wanted to do something special for both you and Felice.” Babette recounted. “When you see your mom again soon, you tell her that I said hello, and that I’ll make you a new set of clothes as long as you need them.”

When Babette was finished speaking, she took Shibu by the hands, in the same way his mother did. Then she drew close, and rubbed noses with him gently, in exactly the same way too! Shibu giggled and hugged the seamstress warmly. “Thank you, Auntie Babette.”

“You’re welcome, my sweet boy.” Babette answered. “The next time you come, you must bring both Felice and Cici, as I’d like to make creations for them as well as for you.”

Shibu walked out of the Taylor shop with his heart warmed by more than the linen shirt he was wearing.

The next door they came to was the shop that held Shibu's deepest curiosity. The alchemy symbol that hung over the door of the shop was something else that reminded him of home. So when the young lad ducked into the potion shoppe, he was able to duck directly under the short curtains which adorned the entrance.

No sooner had he stepped in, then a tall, lean figure who was very nearly too thin smiled warmly at him. Her expression accented her pointed features.

“Hello there Shibu!” She said as she rose from her own worktable, and knelt beside Shibu, so the two of them were closer to the same size.

“My name is Anya, and it’s so good to meet another alchemist. Felice speaks very highly of your skills.”

Once more, Shibu felt a pleasant touch of surprise. “Does everyone know about me already?” Shibu said casually, trying not to sound surprised, and failing.

Anya smiled at him warmly. There was a gentle light in her soft green eyes as she looked at Shibu.

“News travels fast, especially among potion makers, Shibu.” Anya related, lowering her voice ever so slightly as she spoke. “Felice sent me a note that said you might be coming this way. I’m glad you could stop in for a visit. Thank you for what you did to rid us of those awful bandits. They made gathering supplies for potions impossible unless we paid them a tax.” Anya told her fellow practitioner.

“Really?” Asked Shibu. His repulsion at the notion of having to pay for anything nature provided showed in his young face. “I’m glad I could do something.” Shibu continued.

“You’re just like Felice described you, Shibu. I’m so happy to meet you. When you’re done shopping, come back here for a while, and you can copy any potion formula you’d like from my library.” Anya told him, her voice full of gratitude.

Shibu’s blue eyes lit up, so much so that Anya’s workroom might not need another candle for the rest of the day.

“Thank you, big sister Anya!” Shibu said, clearly excited by the prospect of learning something new.

Anya smiled, and took Shibu into a gentle hug. But as she held him, she also had a chance to whisper very quietly into his ear. “Come back as soon as you can, please Shibu. There’s something besides potions that we need to talk about.”

As the two parted, Anya nodded ever so gently at Shibu, who returned the gesture in understanding.

The group shopping spree continued through the other merchants and craftsmen throughout the village, each one of them producing a small gift in gratitude for Shibu’s fight against the bandits.

When they came to the largest, and best built building in the village, a thick-set man with hair as black as Shibu’s own, and wearing a set of light leather armor held up an informal hand, stopping the progress of the group before the village’s militia office.

“And you’d be Shibu, unless I miss my guess. The man said, looking the boy over with a keen set of brown eyes that seem to look directly through him rather than at him.

“That’s right Sir.” Shibu replied looking back at the captain of the militia with absolutely no fear. “How can I help you?” The young lad asked.

“You’ve done quite enough my boy.” The captain told him in a ringing proud tone. “We’ve been trying for months to find their hideaway, or to get them in one place so we can arrest them all at once. You did in a few minutes what the rest of my men couldn’t do in three months time.”

By now, Shibu was blushing so much that the color in his cheeks clashed with the color of his blue eyes.

“I didn’t have any kind of plan.” Shibu replied. “When they attacked my friends, I didn’t think much, I just sort of did rather than think.” Shibu confided to the soldier in command.

“Well however you did it, it was fine work Shibu, fine work indeed.” The militia commander replied. “I don’t know if your friends have had a chance to tell you, or not, so I will. You’ll be happy to know that there was a reward out for both the bandit gang, and the individual bandits as well.” The militia chief explained. “I stopped you so I can give you what you have coming.”

As he spoke, the soldier took a large leather pouch off of his belt, and handed it directly to Shibu. The pouch was so full, and so heavy that Shibu had to take it in both hands, rather than just one.

“That’s 500 Kamas for the bandit gang, 250 more for the leader, and 250 more for the members of his gang. Total: 1000 Kamas Reward.” The militia leader told the dark haired boy. “So that is entirely for you, my fine lad.”

Even the Count was moved to a gentle snicker at Shibu’s expression. Shibu’s face looked as if someone had handed him one of the Golden Eggs, along with the goose!

“Can I ask one thing, Sir?” Shibu wanted to know, suddenly sounding a bit urgent.

“Certainly, My Boy, Ask Away.”

“Which way to the bank, Sir?”


	16. The Mask of Nobility

While Shibu and the constable were occupied at the Bank, Count Maxim and his canine retainer slipped easily away from the small village. Nothing that they did and nowhere that they went would be questioned by the local authorities. They didn't dare.  
Rather than take the cumbersome wagon, and the ever hungry gobballs, the nobleman and his retainer simply slid through the trees and into the deeper forest.

Both of them knew how to walk silently, and as the forest grew so thick that daylight itself began to dim, both of them were grateful for the skill.

The two of them weaved their way through the forest for the better part of an hour, before they came to a small clearing whose only trace of human passage was an old drowned out campfire.

Maxim turned and looked at Fel. The nobleman gave a short nod. Both of them settled down, seated none to comfortably on the log that seem to be situated near the old fire.

Now it was just a question of waiting.

Maxim knew better than anyone if the bandits were not here, sleeping by day so they could work by night, they might have hit upon some easy prey on the way home.

About twenty more minutes passed, and as the sun crept up a bit more toward noonday, there was the distant sound of a twig snapping followed by some very soft footfalls. A group of a half dozen similarly dressed man slipped silently into the clearing. To Maxim's ears, they were making more noise than all of the musicians in Bonta.

"It's about time you fools got yourselves back here." The count said with annoyance. "Who gave you permission to work in the daylight?"

"The road is just over that hill. It has traffic on it practically all day long. We just needed a little more money for food and drink." One of the thieves took to explaining quickly. "I just thought-"

Maxim cut them off with a growl worthy of Fel. "You idiots, I don't pay you to think. And after last night's pathetic performance, I wonder why I should pay you any longer." Maxim snarled at the group.

The bandits were instantly cowed, and dropping the small amount of loot they had on the log beside Maxim, all of them seem to shrink away into nothing, as they prepared to bed down for the day.  
After a few minutes, the bandit who had spoken up before returned, his hands and eyes lowered before the nobleman.

"Please excuse us, your Excellency. We tried our best, but the truth is that no one in the entire thieves guild would have been prepared for that boy." The bandit leader told the nobleman.

The highwayman's observation made the noble smile. That probably saved both their jobs, and their lives.

"Yes indeed, the boy is quite unique." Maxim answered. "I didn't hire you imbeciles for any simple kidnapping. My plans go much farther than that, especially with that boy counted into the mix." Maxim replied.

As the nobleman spoke, he fished around a bit in one of the pockets of his cloak, and toss the leader of the bandits a small leather purse heavy with coins.

"Here, take this. I suppose you have earned it one way or another. There's also enough extra there to get your friends out of jail, providing that overstuffed Sheriff doesn't require too much of a bribe."

This made the bandit leader smile. The sorry truth was that Shibu had managed to take down better than half their number, with nothing more than a simple wooden pole. Both the bandit and the nobleman knew that the criminals were still crammed into a small cell in the nearby village. But as the nobleman had observed, a bribe had worked before, as had giving the local sheriff a share of the loot appropriated by himself and his associates.

"It'll be good to be back at full strength again." The bandit leader observed casually. "And what are your wishes, your Excellency?"

"The next part of this little drama will require a certain number of strong and loyal men. Loyal to me, that is. I will need them very soon now. It will take another day for events to unfold." Maxim replied, looking down his nose at the bandit chieftain.

"Must be a big job." The bandit chief observed. "How many men will you need?"

"How many men are there in the Royal Guard?" Maxim paused, carefully watching the eyes of the bandit as he thought over the question without understanding its implication. 

"Not that a simpleton like you would know." Maxim said to him at last. "Start with fifty. With that many, we may be able to hold the castle until we can invite more of our friends to join the new administration."

The dim light of the bandit leaders reasoning finally flickered in his dull eyes.

"You mean you're going to try for the throne?" The bandit leader asked.

This time, rather than answering, Maxim reached out his gloved hand and clamped it around the throat of the talkative bandit leader. "If you ever mention that again in my presence, or mention it to anyone so long as you live, I will take great pleasure in throwing you into the deepest hole in all of Bonta, and forgetting where you are forever, understand?"

The sheer terror reflected in the bandit's slightly bulging eyes as Maxim spoke was answer enough for the nobleman. "Fifty men, in armor, and with weapons of good quality. I shall arrange for their expenses, but my name is not to be mentioned. Once I have ascended the throne, I will take care of my friends, just as I will take care of my enemies, and those who did me wrong so many years ago." The Count explained. "Just you be certain of whose side you're on once Bonta has a new leader."

Maxim dropped the bandit leader to the ground, right at the edge of the old fire where the ground was still wet. The bandit leader immediately genuflected to the ambitious nobleman. "As you order, your most high majesty."

"That is more like it." Maxim replied coldly. "You and these other idiots get some sleep. I will call you again when and if I need you. When I do, see to it that you are ready." Maxim growled at the bandit chief.

"As you will, noble sire." The bandit chief replied, still down on his knees before Maxim. "Fifty men of quality may require a few days more time, and almost certainly more gold than this." The bandit replied.

"Do your job as ordered." Maxim snapped again. "When you need it, the money shall present itself. We have recently discovered a new source of revenue in a village not far from here. It is the village where the boy lives."

"I know the one, noble highness. It is protected by the Cra." The bandit leader explained.

"From now on, it is also protected by me." Maxim replied. Absolutely no harm whatsoever shall be done to the inhabitants of Amikina village." Maxim ordered sharply.

"As you wish, sire." The bandit chief replied.

"If the boy discovered there was trouble at home, he will certainly wish to return immediately. I require his services for my new plan to succeed. Therefore, you will see to it that no one from the guild harms anyone from the village, and nothing is to be taken from there without my express permission. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly Sire." The bandit leader replied as Maxim rose from his seat on the log, forgetting entirely about the pathetic silver coins which represented his share of the loot.

"For now, we return to Emelka. We shall be in Bonta tomorrow. See to it that you have the men I require by then."

"Yes sire, as you order. All will be in readiness." The bandit chief replied.

"If you succeed, you will be the captain of my guards. If you fail, you will be as dead as the old King, remember that."

This time, the bandit leader bowed rather than make any reply which might cost him his tongue, or his head.

"Come along, Fel.” Maxim said simply to the dark canine figure sitting opposite him on the other log. "We're due back in Emelka, for an adequate lunch before we push on to Bonta."

Fel spoke not a word as he stood up, and both retainer and his Master walked silently out of the forest clearing as if the pair of them had been nothing but shadows of the Woodland.

The bandit chief paused after they were gone, to weigh again the leather pouch of gold which was the share for the bandits.

For a moment, the bandit chief considered becoming a turncoat. There was always a rich reward to be had in Bonta for turning in traitors. But then, the bandit chief thought of something he hadn't before. Betraying Count Maxim meant that sooner or later the bandit chief and his minions would have to answer not only to the count, but also to Fel.

That thought put a cold shiver down his spine, and at full noontime, the leader of the bandits found himself wishing for a good fire.

Count Maxim had always told them that loyalty was a virtue to live by. Perhaps for now, it was better to live, and be loyal rather than face the grisly alternative.


	17. Shadow of Deception

By the time that Shibu finished arranging having his reward sent back home to Felice and Cici, it was nearly midday. But after the breakfast that morning, he had almost no thought of lunch. Count Maxim and Fel had not eaten quite so much, and so elected to go to the inn for lunch.

There was another thick crowd gathering around the Inn, hoping to catch sight of the new local hero. Shibu used the crowd to separate himself from his companions, and as soon as they disappeared into the tavern, Shibu turned, and made fast tracks for Anya’s potion shop. It was his first opportunity in a while to get up on his toes and sprint. It had always seemed more natural and comfortable to him besides being better than twice as fast as the average person could hope to run.

Anya’s door was open when Shibu arrived, and he quickly slid into the potion Shoppe and out of sight, as the door closed quickly behind him.

“Welcome back Shibu. I’m glad you came so quickly.” Anya’s voice spoke to Shibu, but the mistress of the shop was nowhere to be seen.

“What can I do, big sister Anya?” Shibu asked, taking an easy seat on one of the low stools scattered around the shop.

“It’s what I can do for you, Shibu.” Anya told him. “I’ve had a note from Felice. There’s something you have to know.”

“What did Mom say?” Shibu asked, sounding a trifle more urgent than before.

“Felice and Cici are fine, Shibu. Have no fear. But your mother never entirely trusted Count Maxim.” Anya revealed in a low whisper, so as not to be overheard by anyone who might be lurking outside the shop.

“Your mother sent a note to Bonta, ahead of you, and the Count.” Anya told Shibu. “She wanted to check up on him, and the validity of the Royal warrant he carries.” The potion mistress explained slowly.

Shibu nodded an eager understanding.

“What did mom find out?” Shibu asked directly.

“The Count is a Bontarian, and a noble. That much is certain. But he has no authority at all to bestow Royal Warrants. It seems your benefactor doesn’t have the best reputation back home in Bonta.” Anya told him quietly.

“Felice also sent me a copy of the message, in case you came through Emelka. She felt you ought to know. And there was a message from Cici as well.” Anya continued.

“And what was that?” Shibu asked, his voice going up in pitch slightly.

“Beware the Shadow Bandits, and their leader.” Anya repeated to him faithfully.

“Nothing to worry about.” Shibu answered. “There all in jail.”

“Perhaps, and perhaps not, Shibu.” Anya replied cryptically.

“Don’t worry, Big Sister Anya.” Shibu said with confidence.   
“No bandits will bother you. If they come around, I’ll protect you.”

“You are just as Darling as you can be, Shibu. Felice wrote to me all about you.” Anya told him, trying so hard not to spoil Shibu’s open-hearted innocence.

“I miss her a lot.” Shibu confessed quietly. “Cici too. If she had been here, those bandits would have needed rescuing from her.” Shibu said with more than a hint of pride in his adopted sister.

“Cici feels the same about you, Shibu.” Anya replied. “That’s why she asked me to make sure you were all right.”

“I’m fine.” Shibu replied. “Everyone here is so friendly. It really is like being at home again.”

Anya looked at Shibu more deeply than she had before. The Boy’s bright blue eyes were like two blue candles that could light up the darkest room as if it were morning. 

Shibu was the first pure heart Anya had met in so long. She could not bear to tell the sweet boy about what she suspected about the Count. For now, Shibu was bright and happy. That was all Anya could hope for.

“Where are you and the Count going, Sweet boy?” Anya asked him at last.

“Bonta!” Shibu answered quickly. “We’re going to present Mom’s healing potions to the Royal Guard, and maybe even to the King of Bonta himself!”

“How exciting!” Anya said, somewhat reserved in her own enthusiasm. “We just want you to be careful, because all of us care about you very much, Sweet Shibu.”

The rosy blush returned to Shibu’s cheeks, clashing for just a moment with the blue from his eyes.

“Big Sister Anya, can you write Mom for me and tell her I am all right, I love her, and I miss her, and Cici too, Please?” Shibu begged.

Anya felt her heart melt like springtime snow, deep inside her.

As Anya looked at Shibu, the mistress of Potions understood for some reason beyond her own mind that she could refuse nothing at all that Shibu asked for.

“Don’t worry, Dear Heart.” Anya replied. “Your Big Sister will take care of everything for you, I promise.”

Bonta, the great White City, was only a few hours of hard travel distant. Anya reasoned quickly that if Shibu and his friends left today just after noon, they would be in Bonta for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Anya decided it was worth the risk to use the potion makers magic message network to communicate with Felice and Cici.

There was a faster way still to get to Bonta, but it was away long forgotten by most of the average citizens.

Anya could get to Bonta far in advance of Shibu and his company. The dark-haired boy who had stolen her heart away was far too open and trusting to see the shadowy side of his noble companion.

Shibu had already shown that he would and could protect himself and others if matters came to a fight. But Anya also knew that Shibu was totally unprepared for another set of traps that waited on the road ahead of him. Count Maxim had been the first one ever to lie to Shibu, in order to take advantage of Shibu’s truly noble nature. Anya knew very well that there would be a price for that lie eventually. But for now, Shibu was headed into the politics and intrigue surrounding the royal court. 

The sweet, fearless blue-eyed boy was headed into a world based on things and ideas that he could not imagine. Shibu simple honesty in the whole universe of dishonesty put him in more danger than he had ever known before.

She had given Shibu a last protective hug before the boy had departed to help pack the wagon for the trip to Bonta.

Now, Anya shut the door to her shop, and bolted it securely before opening a new packet of the magic infused paper used by the world’s alchemists to communicate with each other in times of crisis.

Anya had a long, and sometimes painful letter to write, and then copies of it to send to a few more of her acquaintances. 

Shibu’s true-hearted bravery would keep him safe only to a point.

Seeing to it that he was safe the rest of the time was her promise to him. And as she threw herself into the long bout of magical writing, Anya vowed again to keep that promise, as much for herself, as for Shibu and his family.

Shibu met Count Maxim and Fel as they were leaving a fine lunch at the inn. The Count swiftly decreed final preparations for the trip to Bonta, and with a grunt and a nod, both Shibu and Fel found themselves working side-by-side to muster the needed supplies, and to pack them securely for the remaining trip to the great White City.  
Fel watched Shibu working, and came to admire the way the boy would take on any task, even one far beyond his physical strength. Shibu was always keen to try anything new, and the canine teamster let him have his way until it became obvious that two sets of hands could do the job more quickly and better than one person alone.  
Fel could not help but notice that Shibu was both strong and limber for his age. This helped him more often than not with brute force tasks, such as lifting and carrying of all but the largest crates and Maxim's chests.

But as Shibu met every task with never-ending enthusiasm, Fel also noticed something else which set Shibu apart. His smaller companion would stand still for a moment when given something to do, and try to figure out a better, simpler, and often less tiring way of accomplishing the task at hand.

When it became time to load the wagon with the supply boxes that would form a solid base in the bed of the wagon, Shibu stopped, and looked over the end of the wagon, and the collection of boxes and chests with his keen blue eyes gleaming. After a moment, his youthful face seem to glow with inspiration.

The bed of the wagon was nearly a full yard above the ground, even with the downward slanting gate of the wagon open all the way.

Shibu moved quickly toward the collection of small, medium and large boxes and chests which were the wagons cargo. At first, with a little help from Fel, Shibu stacked three of the large chests directly up against the frame of the wagon in the back, so that the top of the third chest in the stack came up even with the bed of the wagon. Next, Shibu lined up a number of the medium-sized boxes which held dry stores and other goods. But Shibu stacked them in a geometric way, so that the next three boxes in line formed a series of steps which were short, but led upward to the bigger boxes in the next row. Finally Shibu used a half dozen of the small boxes stacked in a way that made the final box in the third row only a single short step up. Fel watched with bright eyes as Shibu built a staircase of boxes which would allow both of them to simply step up while carrying even the largest of the cargo chests meant for the wagon.  
The homemade steps turned a tiring process of fetch and carry into an easy and quick task, which took only a quarter of the time to accomplish!

When the last of the cargo was loaded, and only the homemade staircase remained, all Shibu did was to start with a single box at the bottom of the staircase, lift it, and walk up backwards, a step higher each time, collecting the boxes in a stack as he went. The stack of heavy boxes was the very last thing loaded into the wagon, so that the small boxes could be unloaded first, and the easy set of steps down could be quickly rebuilt to unload the wagon.

Fell had never seen anything like it before, even in all his travels. Such ideas seemed to come easily to Shibu, and blue eyes could usually find an easier way to do the hardest work in an easier way.

But while Shibu always look for a way to make work easier, once the work was before him, he was anything but lazy. Quite the contrary was true. Shibu seemed to enjoy work as much as play. He was willing to try anything once on his own, and if he discovered he could manage the task without asking for help, Shibu was disciplined, and uncomplaining. But he was also quick to see where he needed help, and was just as quick to ask for it when it was needed.

For Fel, the canine servant, this was something new. Normally he was left alone for most of the heavy work as no nobleman would be expected to bend his back for menial labor. But Shibu seem to use it to work off some of the ferocious energy that nearly always kept him almost vibrating with excitement every day as they drew closer to Bonta.

As Shibu worked at his side, Fel began to respect Shibu more and more. He treated Fel not only as an equal, but as a friend as well. And between them, the pair could accomplish the most wearisome labor with only a fraction of their combined energies.

Fel had thought the night before that loading the wagon would take a fair amount of time after lunch. With his stomach full, and the cargo heavy and cumbersome, he had given over two hours to the job. Yet, with Shibu’s help, and his inventive steps, the wagon was fully loaded and balanced after only three quarters of an hour had passed.

It was a cool day, with a fine wisp of breeze in the air. 

But lifting and carrying was still hard work, and when the pair stopped to draw water from the well and refresh themselves, Fel was in for another surprise. 

It was Shibu who turned to the well, and then to fetch and carry the bucket full of water, offering the water first to Fel so the larger canine could drink his fill. Shibu waited his turn, and when it came, he used the same cup, to draw water from the same bucket. This was also something Fel had not seen very often. Most of the locals seemed to treat Fel and his kind almost as beasts of burden, just as Count Maxim had always done. Fel’s kind were handy when there was work to be done, but others treated the Ouginaks as animals, more like the gobballs, rather than individuals.

But Shibu had treated him first as a friend, and then as a fellow laborer.

Through it all, Shibu’s energy and enthusiasm never seemed to diminish. The larger canine wondered where and how the blue-eyed one managed to store up so much energy at one time.

Toward the end of their task together, Fel could see that in spite of his brave front, Shibu was tiring, and could use rest, although he had refused food after the huge breakfast prepared for him by the villagers.

As the last of the smaller boxes found a place near the top of the wagon, Fel took hold of Shibu gently around the waist, and silently lifted his giggling blue eyed friend from the top of the wagon, to a small corner of the bed where Shibu could sit and relax, as Fel took over the last of the lashing required to balance the wagon.

After he was done, Fel sat down on the end of the wagon, alongside Shibu. Fel paused, and drew something round from one of the slightly soiled pockets on the vest that he wore. As He held out the api to Shibu first, Shibu’s blue eyes lit up. Shibu took the fruit with a nod, and took a good-sized bite, before offering the fruit back to Fel, who took a bite in the same fashion as Shibu, finishing off all of the bright red fruit, including the core!

Shibu smiled at Fel, and the pair shook hands over a job well done.

“Blue eyes, watch the wagon here. I’ll go fetch the Master.” Fel told Shibu as the canine stood up slowly. The bed of the wagon rose a bit as it lost Fel’s weight.

“Blue eyes can rest now, and drink water. We will leave here soon. Tomorrow this time, we shall eat in Bonta.” Fel said to the dark-haired boy.

Even as much as Shibu needed rest, that vision of Bonta set Shibu to vibrating gently once again. The ladle from the water cask shaking in his hand so much that it was hard for him to sip the cool fresh water.

The villagers heard the whispers of their local hero leaving at last, and they began to appear in small groups, and then in larger groups, close in to the wagon. Many of them came to say one last word or two of gratitude, or just to shake Shibu’s hand and to wish him well.

Shibu got down from the bed of the wagon, and went into the assembled crowd. He returned every word of thanks, and returned the many hugs given him by the village children!

“Thank you all so much for letting me have a second home.” Shibu said to the assembled villagers. Í’ll return on the way back from Bonta to see you all. “Please take care of each other, and stay well.” Shibu told all of them.

“Shibu speaks for me too!” Said a smooth voice as a tall aristocratic figure made his way through the pressing crowd.

“Hello Count Maxim.” Shibu said politely. “Glad to see you again, myself.”

“Well my boy, as difficult as it is for us to leave, if we don’t leave, will never see Bonta.” The Count replied before turning once again to the people as he took a seat on the driver’s bench of the wagon. “Farewell good citizens of Emelka! We hope to see you again very, very soon.”

Just as the Count was finishing the official farewells, Fel reappeared on the other side of the wagon, and climbed into a spot in front of the reins. 

“Let’s go Fel, on to Bonta and adventure!” The Count said in a raised voice that drew a rousing round of applause from the assembled villagers.

Shibu felt a pang of pain as the wagon drew out of the village, and away, along the well-traveled double lane road which led ultimately to the great White City, which was still beyond the distant hills.

“Don’t be downcast my boy.” Count Maxim said sympathetically. “We’ll be back soon enough, on the way to get you home.”

“There’s no better place than home, and no place that is as hard to leave.” Shibu reflected, still feeling a little sad.

“But there’s no place so happy to come back to, when you get there.” Count Maxim returned with a slight smile, hoping to cheer Shibu’s somewhat deflated spirits.

“The first time away from home is always the most difficult.” Count Maxim told him. “But it isn’t all sadness, as you discover new places and peoples, as you did in Emelka.” The Count continued. “You are so popular in that village that you could very nearly run for mayor, Shibu.” The Count said, managing his best smile at Shibu.

“I would vote for blue eyes, if I could vote.” Fel spoke up in what for him was a gruff but somehow pleasant voice.

“You see Shibu?” The Count asked jovially. “You already have a future in politics.”

Shibu thought about that for a moment, and then replied “If it’s all the same to you Your Excellency, I think I would rather have a future in potions.”

Count Maxim laughed, right out loud. He simply could not hold it in. “Popular and smart! You do have a bright future ahead of you Shibu, no matter where you go.” The nobleman told Shibu, who finally managed a smile, to break the blue mood which had matched his eyes. 

Shibu sat up, and began to take in the sights and sounds which could be heard along the road. Every once in a while now, they would see a wagon coming the opposite way along the double wide path. In the passing merchants and travelers, Shibu could see all the races of the World of the Twelve. He had seen pictures of them in various books, of course. But seeing them in real life for the first time was something he enjoyed even more than reading about them.

“Hey look!” Shibu interjected, as he pointed at an oncoming cart stacked high with bales of straw. He focused on the driver, who had a bow across his back, even as he sat on the driver’s bench. “He’s Cra!” Shibu said excitedly.

“Hey there!” He called to the driver as they drew even along the road. “Do you know Celia Starshine?”

After a moment’s thought, the drivers face brightened.  
“The Hunter who lives in a village near here? She’s a member of my Guild!” The male Cra called back.

“Yes! She’s my sister! When you see her, please tell her that Shibu said hello!”

“Will do, Shibu!” the male Cra called back, as his cart passed on by, headed back to his home. As the two carts drew up even, Shibu saw the Male Cra flash Shibu a Ranger's salute!

The encounter lifted Shibu’s spirits all the more, and seeing Shibu smile gave the Count reason to relax as well.  
Bonta, and his nefarious chance at his rightful wealth and influence was only a half day away.


	18. Blue Eyes in the White City

Count Maxim had been very insistent. No more time was to be lost. Fel and Shibu took turns driving the Gobball propelled wagon. The sheep and their “cargo” made the longest leg of the trip overnight without so much as a stop for water or fodder. The three passengers didn’t stop to eat, either.

But Shibu did manage a change of clothes. Between shifts with Fel, Shibu ducked into the back of the wagon, and changed from the Formal clothes Babbette had made for him, into his far more comfortable and familiar traveling clothes which were more comfortable for the road. When his turn came again, he found both the Count and Fell sound asleep. Fel slept sitting up, while the Count tumbled into the back of the wagon without a word when Shibu came out again.

Part of Shibu wished he could sleep too, as he saw the long, slow line of traffic barely moving, except for the morning breeze! They might not move for hours, it seemed!

The heavy traffic along narrow roads and paths conspired against their best laid plans. As Bonta grew nearer, so did the multitude of wagons and coaches. Several hours later, hunger and discomfort was swept away, as Shibu caught sight of Bonta as their wagon crested a small hill.

The morning sun was just right, and the White City seemed to glow in the morning light. Shibu’s eyes became blue tea saucers, and his jaw dropped, as the boy gasped loudly at the distant vision.

Count Maxim smiled broadly at Shibu’s wonderful expression.

Shibu almost stood up and wanted to leap up to the top of the canvas cover of the wagon. Fel took a gentle hold of Shibu’s belt, and held fast, but without pulling at or restraining his small friend.

“Careful Blue Eyes.” You will not see so much if you are under the wheels.” Fel told him.

“Careful, Shibu.” Count Maxim echoed. “You’ll see it all, I promise.”

Shibu collected history books, and many of his favorites were about Bonta. He could recount the basic history of the City down to the smallest detail. But the words, and what Shibu knew so well seemed to become more alive now that the White City gleamed ahead of him like some of his best dreams.

Both Maxim and Fel could feel the gentle, genuine vibration of excitement hum thru Shibu. Part of him calmed down as the traffic on the wide road into Bonta began to slow down. More and more wagons pulled up slowly alongside them. Their were also coaches carrying passengers, and broughams, with ornate seals on their dark wooden doors. Soon, they went from a walking pace toward Bonta, to a slow crawl that seemed to push Bonta farther out of their reach.

After one of the longest hours Shibu had ever known, the road itself began to change. It transformed from a dirt road into brick, and then after a short distance into finely cut white blocks of granite, laid so closely in each course that there was no space between them. Ten courses of stone made up a larger block which was set into a framework of cement and wood, which allowed the stone roadway to expand and contract with temperature and changes of weather as well as the load passing over it. The smooth, absolutely perfect white stone eliminated the jostling from side to side typical of the wagon’s normal movement.

But Shibu’s attention wasn’t fixed on the roads. The white City grew closer and more detailed. The City gate ahead was a pair of massive arches, one beside the other. Each of the twin arches were guarded by a trio of armored guards who worked out of a large wooden guardhouse between the arches. 

They divided the work of checking passes to enter the city itself. 

The official traffic passed into a narrow third lane which allowed it to move quickly into the City.

“Hold!” one of the guards called out sharply.

Fel pulled the reigns back and the pair of gobballs halted.

“Pass?” The bored soldier in the hot armor droned.

“Count Maxim and retinue. Stand aside Corporal!”

The soldier snapped to attention and gave a quick Salute. “One Moment, Your Excellency.” The guard said with a high tone of respect.

Sitting between Maxim and Fel, Shibu was impressed, even as the three guards became a group of one for a whispered conversation. One of the soldiers glanced askance at the wagon.

Shibu waved and smiled. The soldier frowned and turned back to the three-way conversation. It lasted only as long as it took one of the other soldiers to leaf thru some official paperwork.

“We have a Warrant for Your Excellency, Count Maxim.” The leader of the guards told the nobleman. “Direct from the Royal Household.” The guard explained. “You will be escorted to the Palace at once, by Order of the Royal Guard.”

“Very Good, Corporal.” Maxim replied. “My retainer shall accompany me. We shall attend the King’s Pleasure at once.”

“If Your Excellency will dismount, your baggage will be seen to.” The Corporal replied.

“Very Good, Corporal. Set a double guard on the sealed chests. If they are tampered with, you shall be held responsible before the King himself.” Maxim warned sternly.

Shibu never felt intimidated by the guards. As they approached much closer to the wagon, Shibu hopped down from his place on the bench, and found himself standing in Bonta for the very first time!

His head seem to turn in all directions at once. He could not take in the sights of the city quickly enough. The wide-open spaces beckoned to him. Just beyond another archway, Shibu could both see and hear the the Grand Fountain directly before him in the white marble courtyard. Every place he looked and everything Shibu saw seem to him to be a place of wonder, and a thing of beauty!

So hypnotized was he at the site of The White City, that he wandered away from Count Maxim and Fel by a step or two, lingering just long enough to make sure that he saw everything. This place truly was a gateway to all of the wonderful places he had read about so much. But now they were no longer at arms length on the page of a book. Now he could reach out and touch them!

He wandered over much closer to the refreshing spray that came from the public fountain in the square just ahead. It was a white jet of water that looked more like the feather from some great plumed white bird. Yet it was set in a pool of flowing water as blue as his own eyes.

Shibu knew better than to touch the water, or to drink it. But he stopped as close as he could to the marble bowl of the great fountain, and cupping both hands together, Shibu held them out so he could catch the spray from the fountain across his palms. Once his hands were moist with spray, he ran them gently across his face and cheeks, down to the tip of his chin. Hours of sun, and dust from the road seem to evaporate like a cool breeze which now licked across his wet face. It was a cool refreshing feeling that he would remember always, along with his first sight of Bonta.

But the courtyard around him was more than the fountain. There was a stream of people around him that seemed to move like the flow of the water in the fountain. Here and there around the semicircle of white decorative stone, he could see and smell small shops of every description. Most of them sold trinkets, souvenirs, and even maps and guide services for newcomers to the city.

But some of them also sold food. And as fascinated as Shibu was with a new city spread before him like some sort of white tile mosaic, he could not deny his most basic instincts. They had been on the road almost a full day, going without their usual brief stops to water and feed the feral goballs who pulled the wagon all the way from Emelka.

Shibu went up on his toes and sprint three steps ahead, easily catching up to Count Maxim and Fel.

“I realize this is important, Your Excellency.” Shibu told the nobleman. “But I don’t want my stomach growling when I’m presented to the King.”

The absolute simplicity and honesty of Shibu’s proclamation stopped Count Maxim where he stood. “Oh my stars!” The black booted nobleman exclaimed in reply. “We have not eaten since yesterday!”

Count Maxim turned a stylish half circle, with his cape flowing behind him in the breeze created under the archways.

“I’m so sorry Shibu! I’ve been in such a hurry, that I’ve also become a poor host.” 

As he spoke, Maxim held out a gloved hand, that was filled almost to overflowing with familiar golden coins. 

“Here you are my fine lad, we'll make our way a bit more slowly up toward the castle.” Count Maxim told him sympathetically. “Why don’t you get something to eat for now, and perhaps a souvenir or two for Felice and Cici, and then catch up with us.”

Shibu’s expressive blue eyes gleamed like rare sapphires.

“Thank you Your Excellency!” Shibu exclaimed happily, as he took the handful of Kamas and slid them into his pocket. “I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Take your time to take care of yourself, Shibu. We want to look our best and be on our best behavior once we are at court.” Count Maxim replied. “The daily audience usually does not begin until well after lunch.” The Count told Shibu. “And then, it usually lasts for at least two hours or so. So you have ample time to amuse yourself until then.” The Nobleman told Shibu.

“If we lose touch with one another, I will wait at the top of the stairs near the audience chamber.” Shibu told Count Maxim. “Can I bring something for you and Fel, too?” Shibu asked with his usual generous enthusiasm.

Fel winked slyly at Shibu, but shook his head as the Count’s eyes met his own.

“Very generous of you I’m sure, my lad.” Count Maxim replied. “But I for one can wait until evening time, when we shall have the best meal in all Bonta spread before us.”

The prospect itself made Shibu’s mouth water so much that he was forced to swallow twice before he could reply.

“Thank you Count, I’ll just have a little something for now, and save most of my space for later.”

“Do as you will, Shibu. This day, all Bonta is your oyster, my boy. We shall see you soon.”

The nobleman repeated his sweeping turn, and with his retainer in tow, Count Maxim was off once again toward the imposing marble Castle, whose gleaming white structure could be seen from anywhere in Bonta.  
As Shibu paused to get his first long-distance look at the imposing castle, both his stomach and his appetite conspired to distract him with a loud noise more worthy of a feral beast than a young tourist come to the city for the first time.

The sights of Bonta would wait for him. His stomach was much less patient and far more demanding than his endless curiosity.  
Shibu tried not to take in the grand sights, for they were all around him, but to follow his nose. He caught one scent that made his stomach growl again.

Shibu had grown up on the boar which Cici seemed to comb from the forest like the fleas from a Bow Meow. The large feral pigs were slow roasting on a spit over an open fire, and seasoned with herbs that grew wild in the forest around them. Catching the scent now instantly send Shibu back home, and made his mouth water like nothing else could.

His senses proved keen now that he was on the hunt for any familiar scent. Across the Grand Square where the great water fountain bloomed, there was a small shop which might be taken at first for a blacksmith’s forge. But the Smith had been replaced by a quartet of figures who work closely together in the confined space. Working together, they butchered, carved, skewered and cooked the same Boars which Cici had brought down in the forest. The roasting meat was rubbed with Sage, Rosemary, Black pepper, and salt taken from the sea. All these scents led Shibu to the edge of the shop as quickly as the flight of one of Cici’s arrows.

The quartet running the shop had come upon a novel way of service, which made the lean roast meat even more filling. While the roaster waited for the meat to cook, he would slice long baguettes of bread into shorter pieces about the size of his hand. Then he would take the pieces of bread and cut them open, but not quite in half all the way. Spreading the bread left an open, soft pocket of air that was quickly filled with the roast meat, and the stems of a plant that Shibu also knew from potion making. Watercress grew wild all around his village, and its subtle flavor complemented the roast meat perfectly.

Shibu needed no more proof of the success of the unique dish then to see the crowd of a dozen which never seemed to reduce in number in front of the small shop. As he drew closer, Shibu saw many of the same customers eat, and then place another order for exactly the same dish.

But as hungry as he was, Shibu resolved to wait there, for his chance at the lean roast boar, and soft freshly baked bread.

Shibu was paying so much attention to his nose, that the rest of him forgot for a moment where it was walking. Just as Shibu was deciding if he wanted gravy on his meat, his reverie was broken when he walked directly into the chest of a boy two heads taller, and almost twice as wide as Shibu himself!

“Be careful, clumsy!” Said a harsh and cutting voice with a disparaging tone.

Shibu looked up, until his blue eyes met the darker eyes of a young Iop. The dark eyes carried a large amount of scorn and disdain as they looked down on the shorter figure.

“Hey, fellas!” The older boy called out overly loudly. “Look what I found!” The older boy continued. “A clumsy waif in a funny hat!”  
Right away, three boys on the edge of the crowd in front of the meat roaster turned to face the call of their friend. Quickly, they group themselves in a half circle in front of Shibu, cutting him off from the shop, and from the rest of the crowd as well.

“Well freak?” The leader of the group asked scornfully. “You want to apologize now, or should we just beat it out of you, and you can apologize if you have any teeth afterwards.”

Shibu was surprised for a moment, but he was anything but intimidated. He had known Iops all of his life, and knew that if you treated them with honor and respect, the capable fighters could be the best of friends.

“Oh, sorry for bumping into you. I was just going to get breakfast. Would you all like to join me?” Shibu asked the group of four figures who now stood in front of him with glaring eyes and arms folded across their chests.

“How you gonna eat with no teeth, hat boy?” One of the foursome asked in the sneering tone. 

As he spoke, the boy made a fast grab for the long tail of Shibu’s unusual hat.

Shibu had grown up with his friends making the occasional playful grab at what they jokingly called “Shibu’s tail.” Not even the quickest players on his Boufball team ever came close, because Shibu seem to have been born with the same reflex that came to him in that moment.  
Shibu sidestepped, turning his body slightly with his shoulders forward so his torso was more difficult to touch. All the while, he kept his face forward, so the tail of his hat was protected by the back of his head, his neck and his back.

For the quickest one of the four boys it was as futile as trying to snatch an annoying fly out of the air in front of his nose. The bigger boy not only missed his quick grab, but was thrown off balance by his target moving so quickly. The larger boy almost completely lost his balance, and only the hands of his friends stopped him from falling over in an uncoordinated heap.

Now embarrassed in front of his friends, the older boy regained his balance, and made three more attempts at grabbing Shibu’s unusual hat.

These Shibu deflected simply by bobbing his head from one side to the other, wherever the older boys hand was not.  
The older boy became more frustrated as his friends began to snicker and giggle at his uncoordinated effort to do something which seems so simple.

The embarrassed older boy began to snatch and grab more quickly, growling with increasing frustration as his feeble fingers met only empty air, and increasing laughter from his friends.

“You want that hat?” The leader of the group said, as he put out an arm, pushing his friend back slightly. “Skinny here is going to give us that hat, after he fills it with every Kama he has, aren’t you, skinny?”

Nothing bothered Shibu quite so much as being called names. Especially names that were mean sounding and hurtful.

The Iop boys only saw Shibu’s slightly longer arms and legs, and had completely missed his broad chest and heavy shoulders. They were already underestimating him.

That’s when Shibu knew he had the advantage. And he wasn’t about to let it go.

“In your dreams, hard head!” Replied Shibu quickly. “The seasons move faster than you guys ever will!”

The four friends were pretty much used to having their own way. That showed in the way that they acted, even toward strangers. But they clearly weren’t used to having their victims fight back with words, rather than fists. Shibu’s defiance caught all four of them by surprise, and before any of them could react with their usual physical violence, Shibu had ducked down and away, moving in a half circle behind the group of four older boys.

“If you won’t be nice, I guess I’ll eat by myself.” Shibu retorted evenly, from behind the confused group of four boys who were still standing still, trying to figure out what had become of the boy with a funny hat.

Shibu sidestepped again, tucking himself in behind one of the taller people in the crowd, hiding behind him in the same way he had learned to hide behind the tall trees around the village green back home.

The quartet of Iop boys had split up, and each of them was now making slow progress through the crowd in an effort to spot Shibu once again.

Shibu kept moving, ducking and dodging while weaving his way through the thick crowds, as if the people were no more than a new type of tree in a new stand of forest. This time, he was attentive, and watchful, so as not to bump into another stranger again.

It took him only a moment it seemed to reach the other side of the crowd leaving the four Iop’s lost and confused at the other end of the courtyard in a vain search for Shibu.

When he arrived at the window, the proprietor was shaving long thin pieces of succulent meat on two large slices of warm bread set on a plate.

“Hey there!” Shibu piped up happily. “Your wonderful meat and soft bread remind me of home. May I have a sandwich please?”

The Proprietor set his carving knife down carefully near the end of the slowly turning spit over the crackling grill.  
He was in Enutrof, with big, dark eyes. He could have been Aris’ cousin.

“My pleasure, Sonny. We gotta keep you kids fed good, so you can grow up good. And at only two Kamas, you won’t find a better breakfast or snack in all of Bonta.” The treasure hunter prompted.

Shibu smiled. “Oh yeah!” As he thrust his hand gently into his pocket and came out with two gold coins. “Best Kamas I’ve spent all day!” The young boy said to the treasure hunter turned cook.

That made the older Enutrof smile even more broadly than he did when he happily pocketed the pair of coins from Shibu.

The cook handed Shibu his plate, but then paused, to put some extra meat, and a large ladle of gravy over Shibu’s portion. “No charge, kid!” The cook said with a wink. “When you’re done, just take the plate to one of the smaller windows, please.” Said the cook.

“Will do, Sir!” Shibu said brightly.

But just as he was turning away from the window with his plate, a familiar set of shadows fell across his snack.

“Hey hat boy!” One of the four boys said with a familiar sneering tone. “I see you bought us lunch.” The leader of the four boys interjected. “Give it to us, and maybe you can keep that hat after all!”

No sooner was the threat spoken then help came to Shibu from an unexpected quarter. He had been at a momentary disadvantage, pressed as he was right up against the ordering window. But no sooner had the older boy spoken, then, there was an odd whooshing sound, followed by a solid and heavy sound of an iron gravy ladle thumping on the top of a slightly less hard head!

The leader of the group of four boys slowly sank to his knees, his arms crossed over the top of his head in pain.

“You hooligans go away, and quit bothering my customers, or you’ll get more than that across your thick heads!” The old cook said sternly, as the leader of the group of four boys massaged his head trying to get rid of the pain and dizziness that doubled his vision.

“Go away now, or you’ll be trying to steal from the Royal Guard next!” The Enutrof cook said to them sounding raspy and cross.

The cantankerous old man was more than the four boys wanted or could handle. Slowly, the four of them faded back into the crowd and disappeared.

“Hay kid!” The old cook called out. “How’s the food?”

Shibu looked back at the Enutrof cook with a happy smile, and a sly wink. “Fantastic!” Shibu replied enthusiastically. “As good as home cooking, in the big city!”

The complement made the cook smile. “You and your hat are welcome back here anytime kid!” People like you are my best advertisement!”

Shibu finished his bread and meat snack, along with two more servings of thick gravy served out of a new, clean, ladle. By the time he was finished mopping up the gravy from his plate, and turning it into be washed at one of the smaller windows, he was filled with something besides good food.


	19. Top of the World

Bonta could certainly be a wonderful place, the kind he had read about so much in his favorite books. The series of archways around the fountain gave way to a forecourt which led to a circular colonnade. Suddenly Shibu found himself in the forest of the same white marble which seemed to be everywhere in Bonta. The colonnade offered an attractive way up the hill on which Bonta Castle itself sat, the building gleaming and pristine in the morning sun. A wide vista which led through the colonnade opened onto another area for sellers and merchants of every kind. Most of them seemed to be clustered in small groups around the white stone walls of the castle itself, and it’s pair of main gates both of which seem to be bigger than Shibu’s entire village back home.

The warded castle walls themselves were as thick as entire houses back home, and just as tall as the oldest trees around his village. The unceasing lines of wagons, other vehicles, and groups of people mounted and on foot seem to be reduced to miniature size as they made their way up the majestic hill toward what was truly a regal castle.

Shibu’s head seemed to swim at the never ending grandeur of more people, and more building than Shibu had ever imagined. He had seen engravings and woodblock prints in the pages of his books about Bonta. But all of them faded from his memory as soon as he saw the genuine sights themselves, as no page in any book seemed to do them the slightest justice.

The merchants and sellers in this area were different from those beyond the road gates below. Set higher up on the hill, these were the forgers of armor, and of melee weapons of every kind and type. All of them were renowned as being among the best in the World of the Twelve.

But nestled into the small almost forgotten spaces between the major shops within the merchant quarter, there was also a wide selection of other smaller shops which offered nearly everything imaginable in a large city. As Shibu simply stood back and took in more things than he had ever imagined from every place he’d ever read about, he found himself needing to sit down, as he grew slightly weak in the knees the more that he saw.

As the warm snack settled in, and gave him his energy back, The White City seemed to be pulling him in every direction at once.  
Shibu forced himself to calm down.

No one outside of Bonta knew this city in the same way he did. He wanted to see as much of it as he had read about on so many nights before going to bed and dreaming about the place which now seemed to take him in.

But He also knew his time was limited. After the Royal Audience, he knew that he would eat again, and that he might be put to work. Both activities would be indoors, at best.

This might be his only chance to see the White City he wanted to discover so much.

Shibu drew in a deep breath of Bontarian air and sighed.

He had seen only official places. Gates, guards and sentry boxes.

He already knew that wasn't really Bonta. Shibu wanted to see how and where the average citizens of Bonta lived.

He stood up from the bench, his eyes closed. He held his arm and one pointed finger above his head. Then, he spun around slowly three times, before he opened his eyes and pointed.   
The Ranger in Shibu worked better than he thought. South, and slightly west of south.

As good a start as any, in a place Shibu considered to have a magic about it all its own.


	20. The World Below

Shibu went up on his toes, and flowed into a slower version of his Ranger run. This gave him a faster version of a walk than most people could hope to match. And very soon, both the bullies and the luscious smell of roasted meats were left far behind. Shibu had been so intent on getting away from the troublesome foursome, that he hadn't really considered where he was going.

That made him slightly angry with himself, because Cici had taught him that a Ranger always knew where they were at all times.

It seems that Shibu's fast walk had taken him down what he thought at first was a blind alley, but as he turned sideways to work his way down the small space, it turned out to be the space between three houses. Two set side-by-side made up the narrow alley, and at the top of it, there was a step and a half worth of extra width between the top of the alley, and the back side of the third house.  
Shibu slid through them as easily as one of the feral bow meows that now seemed to become more frequent as he moved into a new neighborhood within the capitol city.

He had seen lots of pictures of various homes in Bonta, so he wasn't surprised to turn and look at the house that had provided him with cover. It was a simple dwelling of one story, made of a combination of wood frame, whitewashed walls insulated with straw, and the heavy bricks that were fired in a kiln. Shibu had seen this done in his village, as the miners brought up rocks that could be powdered, formed, and then literally cooked in the hottest flames Shibu had ever imagined for days on end. It was a lot of work, and very expensive, but more brick houses might have spared his village so much destruction on the night he arrived.

Many of the houses in the neighborhood were also decorated with wooden flower boxes that showed a wide variety of blooms. Shibu even saw one or two of them being used as miniature gardens to raise various herbs. The sight and scent of herbs growing in the midst of the marble city swept Shibu back home in an instant. Sage, Lavender, Mint, and Cloves were all there to greet him, like old friends come to the big city in his backpack.

The streets around the houses were laid with cobblestones, and repaired in some spots with bricks, and even with tar, all carefully whitewashed to maintain the pleasant white color that was a citywide theme. Most of the houses had slanted green roofs, protected from the weather by a tile baked very much in the same way as the bricks that made up the houses. The pictures Shibu had seen in his distant books now seemed to leap at him, and take on a life of their own that was much more vivid than any book page. Most houses had wooden troughs around the edges, that allowed rainwater and melting ice to run off into wooden barrels placed at each corner of the house.

Shibu found himself transfixed once more as he dropped into a casual walk along the well manicured streets. He discovered quickly that the streets themselves curved slowly, becoming continuing loops which seem to be stacked one on top of the other, forming terraces which went higher up along with a gentle rising slope of the ground into which each street of houses was built. The views of the city from the terraces, fenced with heavy black wrought iron for safety's sake, allowed Shibu a view which took in each quarter of the city that had been built in layers over time around the great Castle on the Hill.

The only thing that Shibu enjoyed more than seeing the sights was the thought of running as fast as he could through the seemingly endless loops that were never ending necklace around the city of Bonta. But he held himself well in check, as he seemed to know that when people saw a stranger running, they might be inclined toward being frightened, and on narrow streets like these, as pretty as they might be, blind panic was no one's friend.

The terraces themselves were interconnected by short flights of two or three white marble steps, which Shibu happily took in short well-balanced jumps. It became a game to him as he walked along, passing from level to level, both up and down the hill crowned by the castle.

As he walked along, Shibu continued another Ranger skill that Cici had taught him. But when his step count reached 2000, down one particularly long and interconnected City street, Shibu considered turning back. He walked a few extra steps, to the edge of the terrace which overlooked most of the merchant quarter of the city of Bonta. A squeeze of alarm shot through him when Shibu saw how far above the city his walk had taken him. Rather than lose his balance, or lose his way, Shibu turned and looked up instead.

He was so close to the castle now that it hurt his neck to look all the way to the top, which seemed lost in the blue sky itself. It was then that he noticed that the wall on one side of the terrace had changed. It was no longer made of individual bricks and mortar, but rather of massive marble blocks, some three times as tall as Shibu himself. Here and there, Shibu could see what looked like miniature walls of brick, pressed into the soil of the terrace walls, to keep the earth from sliding under the weight of the marble. This was the base of the castle, and in a real sense, the foundations of the kingdom of Bonta.

Shibu looked around urgently. There were no signs nor marks anywhere on the streets or on the walls themselves to warn him away, yet Shibu developed the sudden and dramatic feeling that he was someplace where people were not generally meant to be.

As a visitor to the fabled city, the last thing he wanted to do was to run afoul of the city code, which provided for the safety of all Bonta's people.

Shibu had a sudden impulse, and returned to the edge of the terrace, where a high wrought iron railing served as both handrail and safety rail for any passerby. He looked out beyond the rail, and down just a little way, to see how far down the edge of the next terrace might be. It would be far easier for him to make a short jump then it would be for him to meander back along the full length of the loop road and go down the steps which would put him one level down.

Sure enough, the next terrace extended outward just slightly below the one upon which he stood. But the wrought iron fence on the edge of that terrace spoiled his intention of trying a jump, for it gave him no clear space to stand in once he landed. He would have to risk grabbing the fence as he fell, and climbing up and over it.  
His adventure with the baby bird, what seemed like so many summers ago had indeed taught him a few useful lessons.

So Shibu contented himself to turn around, and discover that he was completely alone within his own line of sight on both sides.  
This gave Shibu the chance to go up on his toes, and break into the full flowing energy of a Ranger run along the looping terrace!

As Shibu felt himself fall into the run, and the form and energy of it, he found himself making short hop steps over the occasional soft green grassy places, and the top of the benches placed inside some of the loops, to afford passing citizens a quiet and scenic place to relax.

The benches had ornamental wood and iron backs, with rounded topmost edges. 

Just enough to step onto and spring off of again! If Shibu had set them up, the benches could not have been more perfectly spaced. And Shibu's longer stride gave him a solid platform for the next arching step. A long stride or two made Shibu feel as if he had found a way to fly above the city itself! At the top of each running jump, he seemed to be able to see more and more of the City, unrolling beneath his feet like a pure white tapestry. Shibu could not seem to think of anything else.

Until there was a cracking sound under his feet. Weakened and weathered wood splintered, and suddenly, he was falling again! But this time, he knew more, and his reflexes were better.

Don't just fall like a dropped rock. Tuck and roll. Flip and rebound.

He was stronger and better balanced than he was at the tree.  
This time, when his arms moved, it wasn't a panic reflex. 

Blue flash. Another opening in space. Roll, spin. Fall into there, rather than hitting the iron fence. There was stone underneath him, rather than the grass up above. He tucked tighter, and dropped one foot. The drag gave him control. His body contributed reflex and strength. Now he was sliding across cobblestones, rather than crashing hard into them. Shibu went down low, slipping into a long skid that spent the energy of his fall.

And then, he was still.

He pulled a deep breath from the air, and the scare flushed out of his system. Shibu looked up a fair distance. He was now forty feet lower than a moment ago. Deeper down, where the foundations of the mammoth castle up above formed the entire world.

Yet, there was air here. He could feel it moving across his cheeks, and the tip of his nose. Daylight came to his eyes. Reflected in bright shafts off of the pure, polished white blocks of marble.  
And he could hear voices. Close in next to him. The sound of them brought him back to his center, and he was still, as the heart in his chest slowed down again.

“Wow, Sonny! You should be in the circus!” an elderly voice spoke up. ”You even managed to make it look good! That blue light sure is purrdy.” He continued.

Shibu glanced at him, moving only his eyes, because his body was still collecting itself. Shibu exhaled, trying not to hiss like a cobra.

“Thanks.” he whispered instead.

“You picked a strange place to practice, that's for sure.” The elderly Ecaflip observed. “But you move like somebody who plays Boufball.”

That made Shibu smile. “I do.” Shibu replied, as if he was learning to speak again without any breath at all.

“I knew it!” The old codger responded brightly. “It always shows!”

“Where is this?” Shibu asked. “Did I fall right out of Bonta?”

“The old gambler laughed warmly. “Close to it, sonny. This is where Bonta really starts, if you wanna know.”

“What do you call this place?” Shibu asked.

“Home.” replied the elder wistfully. “Every building has a foundation, A flat, level place where building starts. This is the base of the Castle. We're about fifty feet below the base of the hill. The Castle built out and up, right over this place.”

Shibu looked up, and looked around for the first time, as his body relaxed.

The stones here formed a vaulted ceiling, Shibu felt more air flow around him in the wide, arced space.

“You wanna see our only “Tourist spot” down here, m'boy?” The Elder asked as he helped Shibu to stand up , square and solid again.

“Sure.” Answered Shibu. “This place isn't in any of the books I've read, That's for sure.”

This made the old Ecaflip laugh. “Name's Carlton, sonny. What do you call yourself?”

“I'm Shibu!” the boy said brightly. “Pleased to meet you, Carlton.”

“My pleasure.” Carlton replied. “When I was your age, I played Boufball too. So we're both players.”

“Boufballer once, Boufballer always!” Shibu said with a smile.

That put an extra spring in Carlton's step as the two of them walked slowly along what seemed like a hallway made of the same white stone as the Castle far above.

But as they went around the curving corner, the space around them expanded into what seemed like a cave made of Marble. Here, there were iron sconces set into a few of the stones. They carried weak but consistent flames that both lit and warmed the cavernous space. In the center of the space, set into a circle of stone and iron, were four tremendous blocks of stone, tens of feet high, and just as wide. Four white cubes, each of which seemed to be half of a mountain, buried here, underground. They held up the Castle above.

“The Castle's cornerstones, Shibu.” Carlton announced, clearly enjoying a chance to play tour guide.

“Wow! I've never seen so much rock, outside of the quarry!”

“Stones so big, people have forgotten how much they weigh.” Carlton said as if telling a story, but speaking with the ring of truth. “Some say these were cut and put in place by a dragon, but that was so long ago, no one is sure anymore.”

“Fantastic! You could rebuild my entire village right here, and there would be more space.”

“Well, well! You are a bright one.” Carlton said in reply. “There is something else you should know, and one more place that I can show you.” Carlton replied. ”Would you like a cup of cocoa, young fella? And I'll just bet you're hungry, too.”

Shibu started to politely refuse, but before he could speak, the light in his sapphire blue eyes gave away a truth that manners could not hide.

“Thank You, Carlton. I'd be glad to.” Shibu answered right away.

“No problem, Shibu. I want you to see my village, as much as you remember yours.”

“A village?” Shibu asked. “Down here?”

“Sure enough!” Carlton replied. “The people have to live someplace, don't they?” The elder Ecaflip added. “Come along, and I'll show you the forgotten realm of Bonta.” Carlton told Shibu. “Why, we even play Boufball down here.'

“Really?” Shibu answered as the gleam in his blue eyes flashed to life again.

“Why sure!” Carlton answered. “What would life be without Boufball?”


	21. Shibu's Game

Carlton was as good as his word, and better. The elder Ecaflip went so far as to take Shibu by the hand, as the two of them walked slowly around the underground vault into which the Castle's cornerstones had been set.

There was enough space down here to hold half of the city's population, who walked around above probably never realizing that this place existed.

True to what he had said, as the pair of them made their way beyond the large circular chamber and into some of the passageways originally built to bring air, water, and light to the original Castle builders. Shibu began to see makeshift shops set up here and there. Most of them were various colorful blankets spread on the stone floor upon which a seemingly endless variety of trinkets, toys, jewelry and most of the smaller necessities of life had been set out for display.

Shibu's presence was instantly noticed by all the denizens of the tunnel system. Most of the shopkeepers and sellers greeted a new face with the same warm expressions that Shibu had seen in the great courtyards now far above their heads.

For Shibu, this place was a genuine treasure, because one of Shibu's favorite pastimes was exploring small shops, and discovering items of all kinds from days gone by. The entire population of Bonta, and in fact the entire World of the Twelve seemed to be represented in the sellers and buyers who milled around in the neatly organized underground spaces.

Carlton was both understanding and pleasant, stopping whenever Shibu discovered something he had never seen before, and would not be satisfied until the seller told him everything he could about the new item.

It bothered Shibu that he had left most of his money inside one of the chests at the bottom of Count Maxim's wagon. He patted himself down quickly, and discovered to his chagrin that the fall over the iron railing had emptied his pockets of the few remaining coins that Count Maxim had given him! A pang of guilt shot thru Shibu. Most of these people were good, fair-minded sellers, simply trying to make the best living they could for themselves and their families. Normally, Shibu would've quite simply opened the large leather pouch of coins, and very happily spread them almost equally from one end of the makeshift market to the other. Not so much for the sake of the things that he saw, some of which he would've liked to have bought for Felice and Cici. For the most part, it would've been to bring a trace of happiness to the sellers themselves, many of whom had not seen a single Golden Kama in a long while. Shibu had seen only worn silver coins in most of the pouches and drawers, occasionally there was also the glint of copper among the handful of coins that each seller husbanded.

Shibu was also surprised to see the large majority of the vendors were younger than he expected, many with several children tugging at their elbows, as the vendors tried to attract attention to what wears they had on offer.

As he walked together with Carlton deeper into the labyrinth of interconnecting tunnels, Shibu did some quick figuring in the back of his mind. He had not seen all of Bonta yet, but in these tunnels, after just a few minutes walking, he had seen as many vendors down here as he had up above near the toy store, and the collection of food stands.

Shibu had learned enough of the basic rules of buying and selling from everyone in his village. It took no special knowledge to see that half of Bonta's economy had truly been sunk beneath the weight of the Castle above.

Every once in a while, Carlton would smile and wave at one or more vendor or family of vendors along the circuitous route. Most of the people Carlton recognized were his age, or close to it. It was fairly obvious from what they had for sale, and the way they talked together that some of the older vendors had been down here for most of their lives.  
That made Shibu shudder. He tried to imagine coming here to the same spot, and doing the same thing day after endless day until they amounted to years of time passed. It was almost as if some of the vendors Shibu met were slaves, in a sense, even after Bonta had outlawed slavery generations ago.

Bidding goodbye to his friends, Carlton picked up the pace of their shared walk after most of an hour had passed.

"Come on young fella. Or will be late for the first match of the day!" Carlton called Shibu with a teasing smile. Carlton solved the intermediate problem by simply swinging Shibu up onto his shoulders!  
Shibu went as willingly as he always did with Cici, and Carlton was able to thread his way through the thick crowds which seemed to assemble not far ahead of them, as a great number of people tried to squeeze quickly through a small door in the passageway up ahead.

"Time for Boufball, m'boy." Carlton said joyfully. "Now you'll see some genuine Bontarian Boufball.” 

Still seated atop Carlton's shoulders, the large Enutrof minding the single door ahead wave both of them right through the narrow opening. Carlton sidestepped for a moment, and ducked slightly to fit them both through the door. But he did it as if he'd been doing it every day of his life.

Inside this walled off section, the foundations expanded into another cavernous space. But this one held no massive stone blocks, nor the equally bulky ironwork which reinforced the cornerstones.  
In the place of the masonry and stonework, there was a huge round field of genuine grass, which had been recessed into the white marble stone itself.  
No one had to tell Shibu what this place was. The markings laid out by chalk dust on the green grass were as familiar to him as his own hand prints.

A Boufball field!

The change in the regulation shape didn't seem to make any difference, for the grassy circle was so large, and so well-kept that it seemed to rival any rectangular field Shibu had ever seen!  
But the advantages of the rounded shape became obvious as Shibu saw hundreds, and then thousands of people file in to each rounded tier of seating on a different levels of a stadium which was actually a mammoth amphitheater!

Shibu supposed that it was still early morning, as the daylight that flooded the venue and lit up the field came down from a single broad shaft of sunlight, reflected by angled mirrors set on each level of the amphitheater. The result was a clean, pure light, brighter than any torch delivered into the huge space many stories underground. It was the single most wonderful thing Shibu had ever seen. He took in the sight of it with his jaws slack, lost in the wonder of it until a small stocky man riding a shaggy Black Gobby galloped into the middle of the round field, and let loose a deafening blast on his whistle.

The competing teams ran out of arched entrances on the opposite sides of the field, as the crowd populating the amphitheater seemed to explode with excitement.

It was then that Shibu noticed something as new and different as the way the stadium was lit. The two groups of players all wore shirts of the same color, accented with short pants and headbands of the same color. But other than that, there was no attempt at coordinating a uniform of any kind, aside from the standard boots, gloves, and shields used in a regulation game.

Shibu instantly understood that these were not professional players, as most of the people of Bonta would understand them. Instead, they look more like the multitude of faces that Shibu had seen along the concourse full of merchants through which Carlton had brought him.

"Real Bontarians, playing real Boufball!” Shibu exclaimed, just as Carlton bent over slightly to begin explaining the situation to Shibu.

“Oh, so you know this game, do you?” Carlton asked, being funny.

“You're kidding!” Shibu shot back. “I'm the best striker this side of Bonta. We play every day, sunshine or rain.”

"Down here, we never worry about the weather. Even on cloudy days, we get enough light to play, and play we do!" Carlton replied happily.

The whistle sounded again sharply, and after a moment the game itself began with the typical jump ball. Within ten seconds of the second whistle, Shibu forgot entirely where he was, as his mind became entirely fixed on the game he was watching. It was no longer a question of underground, or above it. Nor a question of rich, or poor. The only thing that mattered to all of them was the game itself.

Carlton seemed to have worked some sort of magic in picking just the right seats so that the pair of them could see the game with a slightly elevated clear view of the entire field. As the game went back and forth on a rectangular field, games here flowed to and fro, from one side of the vast circle to the other. The field itself was divided into two large semicircles by the standard goals that were the same on any Bontarian Boufball field.

The goaltenders opposed one another on opposite sides of the vast circle, each having a clear view of the other on the opposite side.

But rather than moving, almost sloshing from side to side, as happened on rectangular fields, the circular version was far more free-flowing, much quicker, and in spots, much rougher than standard Boufball.

The match went around and around the circular field, seeming to wind itself up like a mainspring every time the competing teams made a full circle. The game itself continued to swirl, even as various players took short, and long shots across the circular field at the opponents goal. The players and their game never seem to stop moving, not even for an instant, until or unless someone scored. And even then, the pause was brief. The game halted just long enough to gather both teams for another jump ball, after which the revolving mayhem seem to continue without let up, even while the crowd was still cheering the goal that had just been scored.

It seemed the only time that the spectators for the unusual sport were permitted to relax and draw breath was during halftime, which served as a break to allow everyone involved to refresh themselves, and prepare for more. It also gave a large majority of the audience time to call for various snacks, served to them by unique vendors, who walked up and down the steep stairs among the tiers of stacked seating, all the while competing with one another to call out more loudly whatever delicacy they had on offer.

The most popular were ironically enough, small bite-size pieces of roasted Gobby, served with flagons of cold water, offered up in many and various fruit flavors.

Shibu was sorry again that he left his leather pouch in Count Maxim's wagon, and the young lad felt a pang of guilt as Carlton dipped into a nearly empty bag of coins on his belt to buy them both a bite of food, and a slosh of something to drink.

The half-time interval seem to be coordinated exactly for the snacktime required, for as most people were finishing their refreshments, the whistle blew for the second half. But before the jump ball, replacement players for both teams were announced, according to the rules of the Bontarian game.

Shibu could not help notice that several of the replacement players seemed much bigger, and much stronger than some of the others that had played in the first half of the game.  
But he knew almost better than anyone, that such substitutions were legal, as long as each team was limited to five players, and followed the rules, without cheating.

As the game wound itself back up again, assisted by the near frenzy of the audience in the amphitheater, Shibu began to take notice of the striker who was wearing the red colors for the game. He was one of the replacements at halftime, and he was the biggest Iop that Shibu had ever seen!

Along with his size, the new red striker was also one of the biggest cheaters Shibu had ever seen!

The big player used size and intimidation, both of which were entirely legal on the field. But the red teams striker was also a past master at the fine art of missing the ball when he kicked, just as another opposing player happen to be near it.  
As a result, a trio of yellow players sailed through the air, in rapid succession and wound up rolling across the circular field faster than the ball which they were all chasing.

"That's cheating!” Shibu cried. “And it's not fair play!”  
Sitting next to him, still munching on his last few bits of roast meat, Carlton smiled. "Well, that's the game, and its life too. What can you do?" The elderly Ecaflip said casually.

Almost as if to punctuate what Carlton had said, the whistle blew again to pause the game as the last injured yellow player was moved to the sidelines, even before the Enripsa's brushes had a chance to work.

Carlton heard Shibu growl, ever so softly. Then the dark-haired boy said "I'll show you!"

Almost before Carlton could hear him, Shibu was up, out of his seat, and hopping easily down the levels of seating, toward the field below!

For Shibu, it was as easy as hopping over rocks in a stream to keep from getting his feet wet.  
But for the crowd, the spell of the game had been broken by the whistle, and the spectators had someone new to watch as Shibu made hopping through twelve sections of seating look easy, simple, and fun!

When he hit the seats close to the grass circle itself, he was momentarily halted by a white marble retaining wall, just a little shorter than himself. Shibu put on a bit of a show, lifting himself up by one arm, and holding the pose to polite applause before dropping over the retaining wall as if it had never existed, and onto the field itself.

Once he had grass rather than stone under his feet, Shibu was in his element, and he was up on his toes taking long purposeful strides across the field, his eyes focused like blue beams of light on the striker wearing the red colors.

Treating the injured player, and pronouncing him unfit to continue took several seconds of time, during which the referee with the whistle never saw the approach of the dark-haired boy with the unusual hat. By the time he turned around, and saw Shibu, the young lad was standing toe to toe with the red player, who towered twice as tall over the boy! 

"I don't like you!" Shibu said, loudly enough for both teams, and a majority of the spectators to hear him very clearly. "You cheat, you hurt people, and you like it."

Shibu snarled angrily at the red striker who up until that moment had been enjoying the sight of another broken opponent. The look of smug self-satisfaction fell from the Iop's face.

"Get outta here, pipsqueak, or I'll use you instead of the ball the next time we jump.”

"Wanna bet, big and ugly? I could score on your whole team, and I could do it without cheating, like you do.”

Before anyone could say anything more, two things happened, nearly at once. The audience erupted in foot stomping cheers, and the Referee, who had nearly swallowed his whistle in surprise, blew his whistle as hard as he could.

Shibu expected to be thrown off the field, maybe even out of the amphitheater. For just a moment, he was sorry to Carlton for what he had done. But then, Shibu heard another sound that cut through him like the referee's whistle.

It was the Cheater.

The big man was laughing. Laughing at Shibu, so hard that the red striker almost fell over trying to keep his balance. 

Shibu's response was a quiet whisper that could be heard by every spectator, no matter how high up they were sitting.

“I challenge you! Shibu snarled again, this time managing to sound nearly as mean as the Iop had been a few moments before.

The cold tone in Shibu's defiance struck something in the Iop.

This kid wanted a fight.

No Iop ever refused a fight. It was part of what they were. Fighting was their way of life.

And Shibu knew it. He had the cheater, dead to rights.  
Both the Red Striker and the boy with the pure blue eyes shot a glance at the referee.   
The now nervous little man on the sheep pulled a small booklet from his back pocket, and turned the pages with shaky fingers.

“Well, The Yellow Team does need a substitute.” He seemed to squeak more like a mouse than an official.

The ref looked quickly at the captain of the Yellow Team.

“Eddy here was our last man.” I guess we'll have to forfeit the game.” The yellow leader said sadly.

Just then, a hand reached up from the stretcher resting on the sideline grass.

Eddy didn't say anything. He was down to using one good hand, and he used it to take the headband from his own forehead and hold it out to Shibu!

The amphitheater seemed to erupt, like a living volcano! The sound was probably heard as a low rumble in Bonta, hundreds of feet above.

Shibu took the headband, as the spectators cheered.

Only the referee,the Yellow Team leader and the cheating Iop heard Shibu say “I volunteer!” as the dark haired boy with the blue eyes retied the headband to fit.

The little man riding the sheep shrugged at last, and let loose a grand blast on his whistle.

As the referee made the sign for a jump ball, Shibu heard the Iop cheater whisper to his teammates.

“No mercy, no quarter.”

The wall of cheater was betting that Shibu could hear him now.

“If that's the way he wants it, that's what he'll get.” Shibu told his team as the other four made a screen so that Shibu could put on the rest of his Boufball gear.

When Shibu stepped out from between them, he was holding the extra ball always kept near the home team bench. Shibu thrust the ball skyward, while spinning it on the palm of his hand, and then, without looking, on the tip of his gloved finger.

Sitting in his seat, Carlton went from being worried for the boy to being worried he might find himself in the middle of a riot!

The audience around him had simply lost their minds!

As the referee lined up both teams for the jump ball, the audience was stamping their feet and howling, almost like a great pack of wild animals.

Shibu and the cheater faced one another across a tight circle of grim faces.

Waiting.

Waiting..

And then, like a sound from another world, the whistle blew.  
And Shibu was airborne, his fierce blue eyes set on the ball as if there was nothing else in all the world that mattered.

Shibu's reactions were quick and sharp, seeming as natural as instinct itself. He put more into the jump than he ever had before. In only a moment, he had missed the elbow that the cheater had aimed to bounce off of Shibu's forehead, and was instead sailing almost a full head in height above the tall Iop.

He caught hold of the ball on the way down, tossing it back up as he moved upward himself. It took only a second for Shibu to see the distant goal, and to see it in a way he had never known before. His vision was filled with the same sort of subtle blue light that came with the mysterious holes which seem to be made of the same light. Only this time, there was a beam like quality to it. A pair of broad lanes of light seem to slice through space itself, reaching into the goal and then going beyond it.

As soon as Shibu's feet cleared the circle, he made a circle of his own, turning head over heels in space above the group of players still on the ground below him.

His aim was more than perfect. It was also powerful, as if it was guided through space itself by the blue light he had seen a fraction of a second before. Both of his feet smashed hard into the ball which seemed to hover in front of him. It was as if Shibu had launched a missile guided by the two rails of blue light that focused on the goal. The ball seemed to scream through space, and before Shibu could set his own eyes on the ball again, it was spinning exactly in the top middle of the goal, fighting to tear through the twine and continue its flight.

The goalkeeper was the second tallest player on the Red Team. But there was still more than a foot of distance between the top of his head, and the bottom of the crossbar that formed the top of the goal. The ball had shot through the space before the red goalkeeper could move, or even think about blocking the shot.

Shibu's head over heels kick carried him around in a full circle after his feet seemed to blast the ball clear out of the unique round field. He dropped back down onto the same spot where he had been standing the instant before the whistle blew. Around him, the circle of players had loosened slightly, all of them expecting to begin an all-out chase for the ball. Instead, all of the players, and even the referee, still mounted on his Gobby, were all staring in absolute disbelief toward the spot where the ball now spun against the twine.

"That's one!" Shibu said, not sounding at all petulant or cocky. As he stood before his teammates on one side, and the entire Red Team on the other side of the jump ball circle.

"You want to apologize now, or should I score a couple more, just to prove my point?" Shibu asked the six and a half foot Iop striker, who had barely had a chance to look away from what had been his ball when it was in the air only a few moments before.

Shibu's question seemed to restore the referee to some sort of consciousness. The official riding the sheep now put some real effort into blowing the whistle that was still hanging from his lower lip.

But the only sound Shibu could hear was the sound of the Stadium crowd after realizing he had scored almost before anyone had set eyes on the ball!

A moment before, most of the crowd had been howling almost like wild animals at the nature of Shibu's challenge to the Red Team that seem to make up their own rules.

Almost before the audience knew where the ball was, Shibu had given them something real to cheer about, and without breaking any rules, or any bones for that matter.

The entire amphitheater seemed to hoot, whistle, and yell, all while still stamping their feet on the wooden framing that formed the seating inside each tier of the amphitheater. In only a moment, Shibu seemed to have converted the entire vast space into a universe of cheering noise.

The living avalanche of sound seemed to expand exponentially when the scoreboard for the round field flickered for a moment, and then marked one goal for the previously shorthanded Yellow Team.

Across the loose circle of players who had been thoroughly and unexpectedly outplayed, there rose a low and dangerous growling of disapproval. Especially from the tall striker who had raised Shibu's ire.

But the small round man writing the sheep was nowhere near as easily intimidated as some of the players in the yellow squad. The referee took a yellow card from his pocket, and waved it under the nose of 6 feet of angry Iop.

"That's no good!" The striker protested. "We wasn't ready!" The striker complained on behalf of his red teammates.

Across the group, from behind Shibu, the captain of the Yellow Team spoke up. "The whistle blew. We all heard it. The kid here just put one over on you, but good, and that counts!"

"That's a goal!" The small man riding on the sheep replied. "Yellow one, Reds nil. Jump Ball-Again!” The referee concluded.

Shibu took a moment to risk taking his eyes from the red squad, and looking over his shoulder and up a bit at the other members of the Yellow Team. Each of them were smiling broadly, and all of them showed thumbs up.

Shibu had been officially adopted, once more in his life, and it felt good.

Shibu smiled back, returning the happiness of his teammates. But when he looked forward again, at the semicircle of red uniforms in front of him, Shibu wasn't smiling anymore. His pure blue eyes were as hard as diamonds, and in them, anyone with common sense enough to see could also see the flash of determination in his youthful vision.

"I think someone said something about "no prisoners", and I also heard the phrase "no mercy". Shibu told the members of the red squad.

"If that's the way you really want it, I'm game. Are you?" Shibu asked the red squad, aiming his words like the blue beams of light that seem to come from his eyes toward the tall cheater in their midst.

For the first time, Shibu saw both doubt and fear flicker across the eyes of four out of the five players wearing red colors. The only set of steady eyes belonged to six feet and more of Iop.

"You got lucky, pipsqueak, try me one-on-one, and you won't get away with it so easy, I say!" the Iop snarked.

“You guys want anymore of me? Shibu growled, looking directly at the captain of the Red Team. 

The other four members of the Red Team quickly exchanged nervous glances between one another. And then slowly, one at a time, the four team mates peeled away from around their striker, and went back to sit calmly on the visitors bench, leaving the six foot Iop and the much smaller dark-haired boy exchanging dagger-eyed glances at mid field.

The tension of the moment was diffused by the blast of a horn, which covered everything in the amphitheater with a blanket of familiar noise.

Shibu also knew what the horn meant. It was almost the end of the third quarter. Time for the fan surprise.

This time, the little man writing the sheep didn't need to be told in advance what the addition to today's game would be.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The referee announced to the crowd using a small handheld megaphone. "Today's fan surprise: a head-to-head shootout between the ruthless striker Victor the Iop from the Blood Reds team, and-”

“Shibu of Amakina” Shibu filled in quickly.

“-and Shibu from Amakina! The boy with the windmill moves!” The referee announced. "Three minutes of game time to a draw, or the first goal wins!” The referee added as the crowd took up a generous round of applause and cheering for a way to settle the confrontation within the rules of the game.

"Players ready!" The referee announced.

Still staring at one another with dagger eyes, both Shibu and the big Iop nodded tightly. “Ready!” Shibu answered. “As another famous Iop once said. “Get the sauce ready, because here comes the steak!” Shibu drawled slowly.

A steam made of pure rage seemed to shoot from the red striker's ears.

“I'm gonna put you back in your crib, junior. And then, I'm gonna set it on fire!” the Iop snarled. “Your tricks won't save you this time!”

Before Shibu could reply, the whistle blew again.

This time, the only tricks Shibu needed had been perfected by many long summers, playing with friends who loved the game, and hated cheaters as much as Shibu did.

Shibu let the Iop have the jump ball. Because once the red striker had it, Shibu could and would enjoy taking it away from him!

The Iop was tall, strong and powerful. The model for intimidation from a long distance. But as Shibu watched him scoop the jump ball out of the air, and take off at a dead run for his goal on the other side of the circular field, Shibu could see the bigger players weaknesses, as if each and every one of them were lit up with the blue light from his eyes.

Reflex and practice instantly put Shibu up on his toes, and Shibu took off after the striker. The Iop seemed to be lumbering along in slow motion. Shibu's Ranger run took him down the circular field and around the curve in the opposite direction as quickly as all the spectators seemed to stand up and cheer!

The Iop was strong, but had no training. He was powerful, but only powerful in his anger. Shibu calmed his mind, and focused on what he wanted to do. To play the game the Iop's brutish way was to lose, every time. Now, Shibu would make the cheater play his game, for a change!

Using all of his skills would have been unfair. That really would've been cheating. Then Shibu saw he wouldn't need all of his skills in order to win, and to teach the brutal bully the price of breaking the rules.

Shibu arrived at his goal with what seemed like minutes to spare, walking up and down in front of the framework and twine with his arms folded, as if waiting impatiently for the Iop ball carrier to arrive.  
The spectators took in Shibu's attitude and the crowd began to snicker, before more open laughter bubbled up from the crowd a few seconds later.

When the red striker carrying the ball finally did come into view on Shibu's side of the field, Shibu was laying down in the grass, seemingly pruning it one blade at a time in front of the goal, as if he had not a care in the entire World of the Twelve.

The audience positively roared with laughter!

It took a second to sink in to the dense layers of the Iop's mind that Shibu and the crowd were really laughing at him, and not at Shibu's disrespectful antics.

The red striker let out a loud bellow of rage, and holding onto the ball with both hands, he seemed to stampede directly at his opponent's goal, as if to simply run right over Shibu, and put the ball in the net with his own two hands.

This was what Shibu had been waiting for.

Most of the spectators wiped the tears from their eyes just in time to see Shibu crouch down low in front of the center of the goal. It looked as if he was a fast runner about to start a mile run.

The moment the red striker crossed the chalk line in the field that meant he was two thirds of the way to the opponents goal, Shibu took off at a low, fast run, as if the noise of the spectators watching were the sound of the starter in one of the foot races he had run so often with his friends.

Shibu never left the stance that let him run up on his toes, instantly there was a moving trail of bright blue light behind him, as the dark-haired boy seemed to run faster than he ever had before.

And Shibu was not the only one to see that he had set himself on course for a head-on collision with the ball carrying Iop! The audience realized it as well. As Shibu shot toward the cheater, all the spectators at once seemed to draw in a sharp breath of surprise. Many of them winced at the impending collision, only moments away.

Shibu seemed to pounce on his much bigger opponent. He sprang at the Iop like a stone from a slingshot. 

The half-witted striker was still holding the ball in two upturned hands! For Shibu, the moment was just exactly right, and Shibu struck hard. The Iop's upturned palms were a perfect kicking tee for the ball, and Shibu gave his best flying side kick. His right foot caught the ball before the Iop could see it, and the ball shot away from his grasp!  
It dropped lightly to the grass as Shibu sailed over the iop's head, and landed two short steps in front of him.

“Hay Ugly! Free Shot!” he hollered at the Iop, egging the larger player on to take a swipe at the boy with the long-tailed hat.

It was then the the Iop noticed that the ball now rested quite comfortably between Shibu's feet!

The Iop smiled. Crushing this insect would give him the ball again, and the goal he was sure to score, now that Shibu had moved away, leaving the goal open.

It was bait the Iop could not refuse!

The striker drew back an arm nearly as thick as a young tree, and with the flat of his palm, where the ball used to be, he swung his arm down in a great smashing arc, intending to simply swat this annoying pest and retrieve his ball.

Shibu saw it coming before the Iop knew what he was going to do. He simply turned his shoulders, making his torso narrower, and then took a full step back, which was really toward the side.  
The Iop's huge hand smashed down, with only air and grass under his palm.

Before the Iop could react, Shibu hopped into the air, changing the direction of his feet while he held the ball between them. Shibu slowed down to toe tap the ball which was now in front of his feet as the smaller and faster boy seemed to dash for the other side of the field.

The spectators had never seen anything like this.

Controlling the ball with the feet was something brand new to the vast sea of onlookers. Here and there across the amphitheater, spectators began to cheer for Shibu as he loped around the round field, able to wave at the audience, because his hands were completely empty!

To prove that he had real control of the ball, Shibu would toe tap it every third or forth step, popping it upward so that Shibu could bounce the ball lightly off of his forehead before it fell back down to the grass again. All of this while Shibu was also using a swift running style that most of the spectators had never seen or imagined. 

There were a few Cra in the audience, and as they saw Shibu's favorite run, they picked up the cheer for him, spreading it farther and deeper into the crowd.

The Iop spent a few seconds looking at his empty palms, and then down at the grass at his feet, looking for a ball that was already half the field away! The audience that wasn't cheering Shibu almost fell from their wooden plank seats laughing at the striker that Shibu had left behind.

Once more the bigger clumsier player bellowed with rage, and set off after Shibu at a lumbering run!

For Shibu, it was like being chased by a mad Goball, and he took full advantage of his lead over his slower and slower witted opponent.

His first job was to win the miniature match.

But Shibu had one more thing to teach the cheating bully before Shibu could just leave off.

When the Iop was still a quarter of the field away, Shibu stopped where he stood, and he put down the ball. Just outside of the chalk line that marked the Iop's goal. 

Then he turned his back on the goal and the ball, and waited, facing his lumbering opposition.

This time, when Shibu looked at the Iop, he was covered in a soft blue light, that showed a small, soft red center.

Almost...

Shibu did a back flip and came down into a single armed hand stand right on top of the ball. Together the combined shadows reached all the way to the back corner of the goal.

Shibu was exactly where he wanted to be.

When the Striker came within ten yards of his own goal, Shibu sprang up and into action once more. This time, he kept hold of the ball and waited just exactly three more Iop steps before he dashed forward.  
All of a sudden, he wanted and needed to run faster than he ever had before. But not out of fear. He simply knew somehow that this was the right thing to do.

And his speed seemed to double as he saw traces of the blue light surrounding his hands and feet as he ran.

Shibu never hit the Iop. That would be playing his game. Shibu had another game in mind. One that he could play, and had already won.

He had measured the length of the Iop's thick arms before.   
Now Shibu swept into a wide circle around the Iop. One twice as big around as the Iop could reach.

All the Iop striker saw was this trail of blue light racing around him, faster than his eyes could follow. Boufball had taught the Iop to always follow the ball. Yet, as the iop tried, he had to stop, standing in one spot, trying to follow a ball whose outline he could barely see as the blue light seemed to wrap around him, moving faster and faster every moment.

While his body could stay still, his eyes could not. They were trying to find and follow the Boufball.

Around, and around, faster and faster in a blur of blue light. 

After a few seconds, the Striker had a bigger problem. The constant movement of his eyes seemed to tie his stomach into a huge knot, even as he felt himself becoming more and more dizzy and not knowing how to stop it.

Then the Iop's mouth was full of something warm, and sour, that tasted just awful!

The Iop sank slowly to his hands and knees, and then threw up, leaving a warm, wet puddle in the middle of the grass!

But Shibu wasn't done.

“Cheaters make me sick too!” Shibu's voice seemed to come from everywhere around the Iop, as if the blue light had become a living thing wrapped around him. “Had enough, Cheater?” Shibu asked.

'Yes, Yes! Just make it stop! I give up! I give up!”

“Oh no you don't. You don't get off that easy.” Shibu said as he seemed to appear out of the blue light, to stand just far enough in front of the woefully sick Iop to avoid messing up his shoes.

Shibu thrust the ball at the now slightly green Iop.

“Get up, walk over, and score on yourself!” Shibu instructed firmly.

The Iop spit out the last of his bile, and shook his head, as the rest of his body shook as well.

“No, not that!” he replied. “That will go on my record.”

“It's Okay.” Shibu answered, I could run around you longer if you want it that way.”

“No! Anything but that!” the Iop protested as he sprang up, standing on a pair of shaky and weak legs.

Timidly, the bigger Iop reached for the Boufball, as if it were a soap bubble and likely to pop as he held it.

“Go on, score my goal for me, and we'll call it even.” Shibu ordered.  
Downcast, sore and sorry, the Iop trudged the last few yards to his own goal, extended his thick arm, and dropped the ball behind the line!

Shibu had never noticed that the crowd watching the shootout had gone absolutely silent.

That changed the moment the ball hit the grass on the net side of the goal's chalk line.

The round amphitheater seemed to explode in cheers as the Iop wobbled, and fell flat on his face, following the ball sheepishly into the goal behind the line.

The referee blew his whistle, ending the shootout and the game, but almost no one heard it.

The audience on one side of the round field threw yellow caps, jerseys, headbands, and bouquets of yellow flowers at Shibu, seemingly determined to bury him alive in their redeemed team spirit.

Shibu smiled and waved, even as two of the groundskeepers showed up to sweep it all up, as the tossed souvenirs collected around Shibu's ankles. They were swept away quickly, so that Shibu could make his way off of the field itself.

The grounds keepers opened a small gate that was the short way back to the stands, and Shibu climbed back into his seat next to Carlton who greeted Shibu with an ecstatic smile, and a firm handshake!

“Shibu, That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!” Carlton said with the enthusiasm of one of the much younger fans now fighting their way out of the round playing field, each fan quickly snatching a free souvenir from a pile as big as a haystack near the Yellow Team bench! 

“How did you manage-” But Carlton stopped short. Shibu's head dipped, just a little and rolled gently to one side, revealing to Carlton that Shibu was fast asleep!

“Poor lad, I suppose he's had a big day!” Carlton observed to no one in particular.

“Come on lad.” Carlton said quietly as he picked up Shibu tenderly to carry the crowd's latest hero out of the amphitheater. 

“I suppose we could find you a spot down here, my boy.” Carlton said talking to himself as he walked back along the concourse. “But I can tell. You belong up top. Yessir, right at the very top. You just trust old Carlton, I'll get you back alright, safe and sound.”


	22. Return to the White World

Carlton was very gentle and slow, but this time it had nothing to do with his age. There was nothing unusual about a grandparent carrying a sleeping child as the two went for a walk, so most of the crowds in the world of the foundation didn't give Carlton a second glance. Slowly but surely, so as not to wake Shibu, the elder Ecaflip advanced toward one of the many winding staircases set back and away from sight in clean, white alcoves built out of the marble.  
No one who live down here attempted to hide, or block the staircases which eventually led upward from the deep foundations to the ground level of the castle on top of the hill.

Yet, Carlton was one of the oldest residents of this unique community. He had seen and forgotten more, and remembered more than most of the younger people would ever know. He understood that there was an unspoken barrier between the two worlds. It was not just the difference between wealth and poverty, nor difference in social station. Most of the residents of the community chose to live beneath the castle rather than below it because of the difference in attitude between the two groups of people. Everyone up above was always in a hurry. Usually to make money somehow, at a cost to someone else.

In the world beneath the castle, the denizens of this community had built something based not on money, for there was very little of it down here, but on trust, honesty, and open friendship.

As Carlton thought about these things, he glanced down at Shibu, still asleep in his arms. By all rights, perhaps Shibu belonged beneath the castle rather than inside it. But Carlton had seen enough of the world to understand that someone with the unique skills possessed by this young boy didn't belong to any one community. Shibu's openhearted friendship and is pure understanding of right and wrong was something they needed up above. So Carlton made up his mind to undertake a selfless act for the kingdom, even though doing it threatened to break his old heart.

He knew just exactly where the proper staircase was. It was the very one which led back to the Terrace from which Shibu had fallen so fortunately into this world. But as he walked silently up the serpentine curved staircase toward the natural sunlight, Carlton made up his mind at last that the best thing for Shibu was to be a part of the world above, at least for now. Perhaps later on, when things got better, as they always did, perhaps Shibu could bring the two worlds together again.

At least that was the hope in the old Ecaflip's heart as he laid Shibu down softly on the very bench where he had tripped and fallen. In his heart, Carlton knew very well that this was not what he wanted. But he also knew with the same sort of conviction that Shibu himself would have that Bonta needed him more than the people down below.

So Carlton left Shibu where he lay. No one would harm him up here, and at the very least, the watch would find and wake him up eventually, as sleeping on public benches was frowned upon by the Royal guards.

Carlton looked down one last time on Shibu's handsome features, and gently whispered "Goodbye young friend, I'll see you again someday soon."

The elder Ecaflip turned away, stepped back behind some overgrown ivy, and was gone like a pleasant puff of springtime breeze.

"Hey boy!" A rough voice interjected. "Get up! You can't sleep here. Have you no home?"

The rude voice and the rough questions pulled Shibu out of his calm relaxed sleep, and rudely back into the world of the awake.

As his eyes fluttered open, Shibu beheld the owner of the voice. He was a short, roundish man wearing polished steel armor, and carrying a largely ceremonial halberd. His slightly fat face had already begun to show a days worth of stubble.

"Oh, forgive me guard captain. I was here with a friend, and then I just fell asleep." Shibu tried to explain.

"Are you ill, boy? Do you need medical attention?" The guard asked, sounding somewhat more sympathetic. Clearly, this young lad was no vagrant, but one of the many visitors to the city who had simply lost his way.

"No sir, I'm fine. Although my friend seems to have gone home."

"I see. First time in Bonta, my lad?" The guardsmen asked.

"Yes Sir. I came as a guest of Count Maxim. I suppose we got to looking around, and forgot about the time." Shibu replied amicably.

"If you're a guest of Count Maxim, you'll want to go directly to the castle." The guardsmen answered. "It's nearly change of watch, and almost lunch time. Come on then, I'll give you an escort up to the castle. 

Shibu took a moment to make a lanky stretch before standing up, and walking along with the guardsmen, toward the castle.

"What's your name, lad?" The guardsmen asked as the pair ambled along at a sociable pace.

"I'm Shibu, from Amakina village, Sir." Shibu replied, offering the guard captain his hand as the pair walked along.

The guard took Shibu's hand, giving the boy a firm handshake. “Amakina, that's out beyond Emelka, isn't it?”

“Yes, sir. About two hours walk, if you have the legs for it.” Shibu told him.

“Yes, I remember, the guardsman said. “My first assignment as a shave tail was out in Emelka.” The guard reminisced. “I suppose that makes us home town boys, doesn't it, Shibu?”

“That it does, Sir!” Shibu replied brightly.

“You can forget the “sir” stuff, Shibu. My friends call me Theo.”

“Ok, Theo, its a pleasure.”

“So, my wandering sparrow, what think you of Bonta, Hay?”

“It's the most wonderful place I've ever seen.” Shibu replied honestly, still with a bit of starlight in his eyes. “But I do miss home more than a little bit.”

“Aye, I'll bet you do, Shibu. Not many trees in this city, hay?”

“Not half enough.” Shibu confessed quietly. “If there were more trees, people could just climb up, and they could see their way.”

Theo chuckled. “I suppose that's one way to solve the problem of people getting lost.”

“There would be more shady spots as well.” Shibu replied. “More places to play and have picnic lunch.”

“Sounds fine to me, anyway.” Theo answered. “Walking on stone all day can be hard on the feet, that's sure.”

“That's why Bonta needs more fountains too, I think!” Shibu replied brightly.

This time, Theo laughed, right out loud, even though Guards were supposed to be stoic while on duty.  
As the two approached one of the checkpoints leading into the castle itself, they had no trouble getting thru the crowds, who were still as thick as fleas on a boar.

“Well, Theo, whom do we have here?” an authoritative voice asked.

Theo turned, came to attention and saluted.

“A guest of Bonta, Major.” Shibu here seeks to find the Honorable Count Maxim, who doubtless has business before his Majesty.”

“I see.” The officer in the gilded armor replied.” Pass, Theo. Please see our young wanderer back safely to the Court.”

Theo saluted, but as the pair marched on, he bent down slightly to Shibu. “When I get Leave next time, I'll come and visit you, Shibu. Maybe we can climb a few trees and catch a few fish in the shade.”

Shibu smiled. “Sounds good to me, Theo!” 

Theo rose again, saluted smartly and both he and Shibu marched past the check point.

“Friend of Count Maxim, are we, Shibu?” Theo inquired.

“Yes.” Shibu replied honestly. “He brought me here to see the city.”

“Oh did he now?” Theo replied. The guardsman looked up and around a bit before he spoke to Shibu again in a low whisper.

“You seem like a bright and bonny lad, Shibu.” He began. “Why not take a word of advice from an old Soldier of the King?”

“Anytime, Theo. Tell me.” Shibu replied seriously.

“If I were you, I'd keep some distance between the likes of him, and a fine lad like yourself.” Theo told Shibu. “And that's all an old Soldier has got to say to a bright young lad.”

“You're the second person to tell me that.” My Aunt from Emelka told me sort of the same thing.” Shibu confessed to the officer.

“She is obviously a fine lady, Young Man. She doesn't want you falling in with bad company.”

“Bad Company?” Shibu whispered. “Is Count Maxim a bad man?”

“His Excellency is the half brother to the King. He was never a good sort, like his Majesty.” Theo replied.

“I see.” Shibu answered. “I think I understand now what my Aunt Anya was trying to tell me.”

“That's the ticket, Lad. Just you be careful around the likes of him, says I, friendly-like.”

Shibu nodded, so no one could overhear his answer.

He had a funny feeling in his stomach again, but this time, it wasn't hunger.

“Are you, all correct, Shibu?” Theo asked.

“I'm fine, Sir. Just now, I wish I could see my Family, too.” Shibu told the old soldier quietly.

“That's the big city, Lad.” Theo answered sympathetically. “One more bit of advice, lad. If trouble finds you along the way, you make straight for the King. There's no finer man in Bonta, or anywhere else, I'll warrant.”

“You know the King, Theo?”

“For most of the life His Majesty saved during the siege of Bonta. I was a lowly Page all those years ago, and His Majesty still a Prince of the Realm. Worked our way up together, I guess you'd say.”

That was something Shibu admired about the officer all the more, and it showed in his pure blue eyes.

“I want to do the same, so I learn everything.”

“You seem sharp enough to do it, Shibu. And Bonta needs good people to protect her, and the King.”

Theo halted, and with a slow, exacting bit of ceremony, shifted his imposing halberd from one shoulder to the other.

“Shibu, I'm right sorry I can't introduce the two of you, but it's time for the Changing of the Guard, and I have to report.” Theo told Shibu. “Make your way up these steps, Lad, and you're sharp enough to spot the line for the General Audience. It's probably out of the main Doors by this hour.”

“Thanks Theo. I hope we meet again soon!” Shibu called after the Royal Guard.

Then, Theo was enfolded by the crowd, and Shibu lost sight of him.  
Something tells me I'd better hurry. Count Maxim and Fel are up there somewhere. Probably looking for me. Shibu thought to himself.

The boy with the black hair had another new feeling in his stomach this time.

It was a thick knot that Shibu had felt so seldom. But he was smart enough to recognize worry when it came to him.


	23. A Doll for a Doll

Shibu felt like he needed to sit down for just a moment, until the knot in his stomach untied itself.

Many now all too familiar wood and marble benches were designed into the stones of the battlements themselves to accommodate tired people. Most of them were customers who were overburdened with loads of treasures which could be so easily had in this wonderful place.

Shibu found a spot on the corner of one wooden bench and sat down, to keep still until his breath caught up with his heartbeat. The spot he had chosen was somewhat secluded, being behind a set of memorial columns which were prominent in the merchants courtyard. Close to the bench where he sat, Shibu caught sight of yet another small shop, probably family-run according to the chatter he could hear between the older man at the counter serving customers and a pair of teenagers, probably son and daughter behind their father taking stock for the shop.

Altogether there was a wonderful bit of magic about the slightly secluded spot. It was the sort of place that only locals and residents would know, and one that the flood of tourists which nearly drowned the city from below, would normally miss, what with their focus being riveted to the great Castle which sat at the top of the hill.

Sitting where he was, Shibu was able to catch sight of some Bontarian inhabitants closer to his own age. He watched with genuine delight as every once in a while a child with one or two parents in tow would come bounding up to the shop dragging slightly weary parents along behind them, usually by the hand. Bonta’s younger generations seem to love the simple handmade toys which were the shop’s main merchandise. The shop seemed to have a little bit of everything, from finely crafted wooden armor for young Knights in waiting, to some truly beautiful ceramic dolls in native costumes which seem to be the wish of most of the young girls.

The shop also offered a vast array of much smaller trinkets and useful souvenirs. These seem to be making up the bulk of the sales for the day, as visitors to the city finally discovered reasonably priced souvenirs which matched both their pocketbook, and their pockets. The shop itself seemed to be a magical corner in a place that flowed with all manner of things and people.

Shibu was just beginning to relax when he heard an unusually sharp crying break the flow of the usual comings and goings around the small toy shop. It didn’t take a long time, or a terribly keen pair of ears to pinpoint the source of the unaccustomed disturbance. She was standing in front of the main window of the shop, just tall enough on her tip toes to see over the bottom edge of the window and into the shop itself.

Yet, confronted as she was by what would seem to be the magic of every toy in Bonta, the little girl with red hair and long pigtails seem to be the town’s one and only, and saddest, young citizen. She thrust out a chubby arm and made a dejected pointing gesture toward one of the hand-painted dolls in the rack which was part of the window display.

Shibu had seen a few dolls in his time, mostly those made of scrap cloth and filled with woodcutter's sawdust for many of the girls around his village. They were fine, beloved playthings, as beautiful and their turn as the exquisite doll over which the young girl was crying. As the young girl grew progressively louder, the father running the shop seemed to have more and more trouble dealing with the emotional state, and the disturbance that the young girl was causing.

Shibu guessed that the shopkeeper now had two older children, and he had forgotten what it was like to deal with one whose wants and needs were so simple and direct.

The small girl was crying so hard that she couldn’t speak. She could only point in frustration, and grow progressively louder as the moments passed. The young girls cry echoed off of the polished marble in the merchants court, until it became a fearful din, probably more worthy of a young boar taken from its mother.

Others in the crowd had begun to shy away from the spectacle and from the noise echoing so loudly in the small space where the shop was located. Seeing his customers walk away from the noise also frustrated the shopkeeper even more, because he could see his profits leaving along with the customers who just wanted to get away from the noise.

Something tugged gently at Shibu’s heartstrings, and he found himself with a clear direct path toward the crying girl as others in the courtyard fell away.

Shibu felt something else, a deeper sort of empathy when he got close enough to realize that she was Enripsa, just like Felice. She wore a brand-new crisp spring dress, and had her cheeks touched up with just the tiniest touch of rouge to accent her strawberry complexion. Her eyes, although they were filled with tears, still gave off the softest green light that Shibu had ever seen.  
He walked over to her, and knelt down just a little way, so the two of them were the same height.

“Hello there cutie!” Shibu began softly. “Whatever could be so wrong with such a pretty girl on such a beautiful spring day?” Shibu asked, doing his best to play substitute big brother to the distraught little girl.

She turned to him, and without so much as a word, as much as a wail, she threw her short arms around his neck, and sobbed as if some unspeakable evil had done away with a member of her family.

Most people might have frozen in surprise, or even in fear at the display of emotion by a younger stranger. Instead, Shibu relaxed, and tried to put himself in the place of the upset younger girl. He returned her hug gently, and managed to scoop her up so that she could see over the bottom of the window and into the shop itself.

“What’s wrong, my little strawberry?” Shibu asked sympathetically. “Was there something you wanted, little one?”

The little girls impressive flood of tears seemed to subside for a moment as she was lifted up and caught sight of the doll that she wanted so much in the window of the shop.

“I want my dolly.” She protested earnestly. “It’s my birthday, and I want my dolly!” The petit redhead girl repeated again.

“Oh! I understand now!” Shibu said brightly. “It’s a birthday for my new friend!” Shibu paused for a moment waiting for a name.

“Crystal.” Said the little girl simply, wiping away some of her tears with the back of her hand as she spoke up.

“Well if little sister Crystal is having a birthday, we’ll just have to get her a present, won’t we?” Shibu asked sounding genuinely glad and excited for the occasion.

Crystal’s reaction was immediate, and as open as her hug had been a few seconds before. She threw her arms around Shibu as he held her, and giggled loudly, transformed by the sheer happiness of the moment.

“Let’s find your mom and dad, and ask them if it’s all right with them.” Shibu told Crystal. But the girls green eyes, which had begun to clear, instantly clouded up again.

Shibu needed no special insight to understand the problem.

“Okay little sister. You just tell big brother where your mom and dad are, and will get Crystal a nice gift for her birthday.” Shibu told her. As he spoke, he touched her softly on the nose, the same way Cici had done with him so many times when he was young. The torrent of laughter that poured out of the little strawberry girl was a pleasant change from her torrent of pain and want. But when Crystal spoke up to answer Shibu, her formally loud voice was subdued, and so quiet that it fell into a fearful whisper as she answered him.

“I don’t know.” Crystal replied in a voice suddenly small with worry and fear.

“I see, little sister.” Shibu replied. “Don’t worry, big brother Shibu will help you find them, all right?”

“Uh-Huh!” Crystal said, nodding her head vigorously.

“Now let’s look around, and see if anyone has lost a cutie like you.”

As Shibu held onto Crystal, the pair walked slowly and easily through the denser crowd which populated the merchants quarter. It would’ve been all too easy for someone so young to get separated from their folks in such a dense crowd. Shibu understood that her parents were probably just as frantic as Crystal had been, when she met Shibu.

Shibu walked around the pair of monumental columns, and more directly out into the crowd holding the little girl so she could be seen. It was a spot where they were up high, and most of the crowd was a step or two lower.  
The two stood together by the colonnade for less than a minute, before an adult voice shouting a familiar name could be heard over the rush and noise of customers, buyers, and sellers.

“Crystal! Crystal!” The double shouting of the name had a tone of salvation to it that Shibu could recognize. “There you are, my little doll!”

The crowd a step or two below them seem to split open, revealing two figures. One was a tall regal looking woman with jet black hair, made even more vivid by the absolutely flawless white velvet dress that she wore. The purity of her white dress was made all the more vivid by the single accessory she carried. In her satin-gloved hand was a distinct tapered bit of wood, finished to a bright sheen with black lacquer. Shibu had read about these but this was his first, fleeting glimpse of an accessory designed to be an understated but devastating weapon of self-defense.

It was the wooden case for an iron war fan!

Thus, the beautiful lady was quietly marked out as one not to be trifled with, nor discounted from her own high station by lapses of manners by anyone she met. The wrath of her accessory could bring considerable pain and embarrassment to anyone foolish enough to slight her with word or glance.

She was in the company of a tall man who wore a uniform jacket, white uniform pants, and a sword on his belt. He became even more distinctive as he turned with the woman in satin to look toward his little girl. The uniformed man also wore a distinctive black eye patch.

Together, the stately couple took up a quick run as the crowd split in two around them. The man in uniform seemed to vault up the steps of the colonnade two at a time, with the pristine lady in white at his side every step of the way, in spite of the high shoes that she wore to complement her dress. Shibu's eyes were quick enough to see the black fan case quickly vanish up one of the Lady's sleeves as she took the top step, and the couple were as close to Shibu as his own shadow on the pure white marble beneath his feet.

Suddenly, mommy and daddy were there in front of her, and young Crystal seem to forget the terrible moment of separation just passed. She threw her chubby arms around her mother’s slender neck and held on tight, passing willingly from Shibu’s arms into her own.

“There you are my darling, it’s all right now. Mother is right here.” As she spoke, the elegant woman showered the cheeks of her daughter with a gentle rain of kisses. All the man in uniform needed was one quick glance to be sure that his daughter was all right, and then the man with the sword turned slightly, to look at Shibu.

“I found her up there.” Shibu began by way of explanation. “Up there by the toy store. Little sister said it was her birthday, and she wanted a doll.”

Shibu pointed to indicate the way, and the man’s glance followed his indication toward the top of the colonnade. 

After a moment, the swordsman nodded approvingly, seeming to understand the situation.

“By Jove!” He exclaimed. “Takes a bit of a gentleman these days to help a lady in distress, wouldn’t you say, my dear Grace?” The man with the monocle over his good eye asked the lady at his side.

“Yes, I would say so, Sir Reginald. Anyone who brings my girl home is a hero in my eyes.” The white velvet lady spoke in the same rounded tones as Shibu was used to hearing from Count Maxim whenever the nobleman spoke. Her almond eyes were the most beguiling shade of hazel that Shibu had ever seen! Those eyes looked into and thru Shibu for only a split second before they softened, and a shimmer of warm energy lit them up like a coastal signal fire. Their brilliant light and gentle strength banished the impulse of uncertainty that Shibu had just begun to feel as he caught sight of the regal couple.

“You’ve put your finger on it, my love. This good lad here seems the hero of the hour, hay what?”

“Indeed he is, Sir Reginald! Do give the lad something by way of reward would you?” The white lady at the side of the knight asked.

“Indeed, my fine young lad! The man with the eye patch said happily as he reached into the pocket of his red wool tunic. “There you are lad, Two sovereigns for your gallantry, from one Knight to another, Hay!!” Said the tall slender man with an admiring smile for Shibu.

“Thank you so much, Sir and Madame.” Shibu answered respectfully.   
“May I ask you just one more favor?”

“You, my good squire, have returned my most precious treasure today.” Sir Reginald answered sounding formal. “You may have from me any wish that I may grant.” The man with the monocle replied.

“I’ll be back in just a moment.” Shibu told the regal pair. “Would you please wait for me here until I return?”

“Most assuredly, young Sir.” Replied Crystal’s mother, her voice still dripping with gratitude and relief under the cultured tone of her speech.

“Thank you very much.” Shibu said politely. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Shibu turned fluidly and seem to hop up the stairs of the colonnade, back toward the toy shop not far distant. As the young knight and his beautiful wife were lovingly reunited with their little girl, no time at all seem to pass before Shibu loped down the stairs from the colonnade toward them with a stride worthy of a young roebuck.

In his hands, Shibu held an oblong squarish box, made of pasteboard, and tied with a bright red ribbon that carefully matched the color of Crystal’s hair.

“I made little sister Crystal a promise, Sir.” Said Shibu addressing himself formally to the knight with the monocle. “And knights always keep their promises, don’t they, Sir?”

“Indeed they do young squire! Bravo!”

“Then this is for little sister Crystal, on her birthday.”

Shibu gave the box to Crystal, and then stood back a step, while her mother helped her untie the ribbon and open the box. In the box, covered by a protective layer of gobball wool was the doll from the shop window!

Crystal’s strawberry face, and her green eyes whose light was a match for her mother’s lit up like happy candles on her birthday cake!

Crystal was already holding the doll gently in the crook of one arm as she squirmed in her mother’s grasp. The little girl lunged at Shibu, to give him a loving hug! “Thank you, big brother!” She said to him just before she kissed him just exactly on his nose.

“You’re welcome, and happy birthday little sister Crystal.” Shibu said returning the hug before Crystal’s mother took her daughter into her arms again, with the delicate doll in Crystal’s loving embrace.

“I say beloved! Sir Reginald remarked. “This lad really is a good sort. Perhaps we could do something for him at Court.”

“It does seem the very least we might do, my dear Reginald.” Said the regal lady in white. “Come along with us now.”

“Shibu.” The boy with the hat interjected at the proper point.

“Come along then, Sir Shibu!” And the nights of the royal court shall hear the tale of our china doll, who was rescued this day by a fine young squire.” Reginald answered him, sounding slightly grandiose in his tones as he spoke.

Shibu already knew how to reply, having learned the proper way to address a knight, having read it in one of Felice’s books on court etiquette.

“As you wish, Sir Reginald!” Shibu said brightly.

“By Jupiter, a hero, and a hero with manners! How extraordinarily lucky we are.”

The trio became a foursome as Reginald and his lady wife reunited with their strawberry daughter formed a vanguard that led Shibu up toward the top of the hill, and into the precincts of the castle itself.

Shibu was surprised to see the palace guard, formidable armored soldiers one and all, bow reverently or snap to rigid attention as the group came into view, and once again as they passed by.

The close group of four was able to walk directly up the semicircular steps of the palace itself. They passed into a throne room as large as a ballroom, where a pair of footmen waited on the pleasure of the monarch on the other end, beyond the massive set of double doors at the distant, long end of the chamber.


	24. An Audience of One

Sir Reginald and his wife joined the audience line, allowing Shibu to go ahead of them. The Knight with he eye patch touched Shibu gently on the shoulder. When Shibu turned a bit, Reginald put his finger to his lips. Shibu nodded understanding. The one who spoke first in the throne room was the King himself.

Just then, there was a short fanfare and the huge doors at one end of the room opened smoothly, to reveal a stocky, thickset man of short stature. He had a soft white beard and might be mistaken for someone’s grandfather. But then, Shibu saw his bright blue eyes, and all thoughts about him being an elderly man fled Shibu’s thoughts.

“His most Royal and Serene Majesty, King Louis the forth, King of Bonta and surrounding lands, and Supreme sovereign of All Lands Bonta.” One of the footman called out in a deep voice as The King entered, trailing a long, red velvet coat trimmed with soft white fur marked with black spots.

But the monarch's reaction to his grandiose introduction was somewhat different from Shibu's expectations. It took someone with a Ranger's trained ears to hear King Louis whisper something under his breath before His Majesty was seated. Shibu heard Louis whisper “windbag” and found himself having to surpress a sudden smile that came to his face!

The King was seated on one of two adjoining thrones, and then spoke to the room in a clear and cultured voice.

“The General audience shall commence.” Louis commanded. “If you have business with Bonta. Draw near, give your attention, and your petition shall be heard.”

Shibu looked up, out and over to one side. He was almost the last in line within the grand throne room.

It was going to be a while before his turn came.

Most of the Bontarians in line used the time to try to quiet their nerves, as many of them had never stood before the King with a request.

Petitions were used for things the Courts of Law did not normally judge. Requests for marriage blessings, the boundaries of estates, lands and farms, pleas for tax relief from the poor, and other matters that were not strictly matters of law.

So the audience began, and one or two people at a time found themselves facing the King, as the Monarch listened to their problems. When each was done speaking, a heavy silence fell upon the room once again. Then, the King spoke, rendering his judgment after considering the problem.

Louis showed himself to be a fair, kindly and generous Sovereign. No matter what decision he pronounced, he sent everyone who appeared before him on their way again with a Gold Sovereign. They were a unique coin of the realm worth one-hundred Kamas!

Shibu gasped lightly as he realized that Sir Reginald had given him two of these already! Their face value was good for a bountiful meal and one nights lodging, anywhere in the White City, with enough left over to afford one person basic transportation to most anywhere between Bonta and Brakmar. For the poorest of his subjects, the golden coin was nothing short of a small fortune! Most average Bontarians kept them as prized souvenirs of a Royal encounter.

As the waiting line grew shorter, Shibu began to think hard about what he would say when his turn came.

He heard Felice and Cici telling him over and over that he was smart and had a good head as well as a fine heart. So Shibu wasn’t anywhere as nervous as some of the others in line before the Throne.

Just after King Louis heard a case of a poor widows taxes now that her husband was gone, the King inhaled sharply, and then unexpectedly began to cough. It was a long, loud hacking that echoed terribly in the marble halls, making what was bad sound ten times worse than it was.

Something popped inside Shibu. He had heard one of the old Enutrof miners, who had spent a lifetime breathing rock dust, cursed with such a cough.  
The remedy for it always came from Felice, who sent small bottles of healing potion along with every miner who went deep underground.

It took Shibu only a moment to react. He stepped out of line in front of Sir Reginald and walked a quick, wide arc from his spot in line to the side of the throne itself, where there was a short flight of steps meant for the King to come and go.

Shibu had moved so quickly that only the last pair of Guards between Shibu and the King were quick enough to block him, just at the bottom of the short steps, barely out of reach of the King. The guards crossed their large halberds in front of Shibu, blocking his way before he could offer the potion to the King.

The entire room seemed to freeze, as the regal coughing fit grew worse, to the point where it seemed the King could not breathe anymore. Shibu saw the older man’s face begin to change color, starting with his cheeks. By the time the elderly man could draw a breath, the King was almost as red as a ripe tomato!

Both Shibu and the Royal Guards shared a worried look for a moment, before Shibu sprang into action.

He didn’t try to duck under the crossed blades. Rather he took a half step back, and then hopped up and over them instead!

Before anyone could move, Shibu was patting the King gently on the back, and helping him to sit up straight so he could breathe easier. Shibu had seen Felice do this with the older miners time and again, and doing it now seemed more like reflex than any sort of plan.

As soon as the hacking stopped, and Shibu could spare a hand, he took a small glass bottle from his pocket, broke the wax seal on the bottle, and while supporting the King’s head with a gentle touch from the other hand, quickly poured the warm, ruby red extract down the King’s throat in small quick sips, that would still allow the King to breathe.

“There, Your Majesty, gently now.” Shibu whispered to him softly.

Slowly, and with some effort, King Louis pulled his first breath in more than a minute from the air. As the King drew a breath, the entire room around both He and Shibu fell absolutely silent.

Shibu watched as hearty color returned to the King’s cheeks, and Louis’ eyes cleared from a frosty blue haze to a blue like the night sky in summertime. Clean, clear and bright.

Shibu smiled at the King, who began to smile in return, just before the heavy mailed glove of one of the Royal Guards landed hard on Shibu’s shoulder and yanked him up, back and away from his patient.

“You young wretch!” Proclaimed the Guardsman as he held Shibu up by one arm, like a lamb being auctioned off in the marketplace. “You would poison his majesty, would you?” The guard snarled. “We have ways of dealing with your kind, boy!”

“Release the boy, or suffer my sword, Ruffian!” A voice called from the back of the room.

The remaining people in line scattered to both sides of the room, leaving only empty space between Sir Reginald, His Lady wife, their daughter, and the Throne.

The Knight with one eye broke into a short fast run that came to a sudden stop after a few steps. Then he shifted his weight back, and simply glided across the mirror polished marble floor toward the Throne as if he were riding an invisible wave of water.

In just a moment, the point of Reginald’s rapier was exactly one inch from the Royal Guards nose!

“Release him, Brigand, or the King shall hear your name.’ Reginald commanded sharply.

The Guard set Shibu back on his feet as if the boy wearing the unique hat was made of blown glass!

“Hold There!” a gravel voice rose from between them. “The King is Here, and what manner of farce is this?” King Louis demanded, sounding angry.

Sir Reginald went down to one knee at once before the King.

Shibu, standing to one side of the Throne did the same, only because it put him out of reach of the Royal guard long enough to speak to King Louis.

“Is your Majesty well, I hope?” Shibu asked simply.

It was the first moment the King had to realize that he was breathing again, and his cursed cough was gone!

“Yes, Boy, Yes, I am, Thanks be to you. Do we know your name?”

“I am Shibu, of Amakina Village, Potion maker, Your Majesty, and no one of any account. I wished only to help your Majesty in a moment of trouble.” Shibu explained in as few words as he could.

The King turned his head a bit and his eyes sparkled as the monarch saw an old friend.

“Sir Reginald! How glad we are to see you again!” The King said, sounding warm and friendly rather than angry. “So you stand for this boy, do you?”

“Yes, Your High Majesty. He has shown kindness and sympathy to your subjects in distress, and he presents a fine and noble spirit.”

“Indeed!” the King answered. “He moved to help me before any of my guards, it would seem.”

Shibu could not help but smile a bit as all four of the royal guards shrank back, and as far as they could get from the King while still standing in the throne room!

“We shall hear him, then.” The King decided, and looked down slightly at Shibu, his blue eyes now casting a much gentler light.

“So tell me, Lad with the eyes of pure blue, why have you come before us?” the King asked.

“Your Majesty, My Mother and I made these potions for the Guard Royal, under a warrant promised by Count Maxim.” Shibu explained calmly. “I have brought samples for you to judge if our work is worthy of your trust.”

“Count Maxim?” The King repeated, sounding somewhat scornful. “His account will be settled soon enough, young Shibu.” The King gestured with two fingers, ever so slightly, and all four of the embarrassed guards had a chance to depart, leaving via a wide door just to one side of the Throne itself. This done, King Louis looked back at Shibu, the anger gone from the Ruler’s eyes.

“Your potions have proved themselves valuable to us, and that is all that matters.” The King told Shibu slowly.

“We shall endorse them for our Guards, and for ourselves.” The King told him. As Shibu smiled, the King made a more general announcement to his Court.

“Shibu and his family shall receive a Royal Warrant from mine own hand, that Bonta may have and use such medicine in her times of need.”

Thank you, Your Majesty.” Shibu said with simple kindness. “I am glad you are better.”

“Ah yes, My lad. Years ago there was a terrible war and the whole city was under siege. The attackers burned tar and oil, making huge clouds of poisonous black smoke. Those of us defending Bonta were stricken by it, and even after all these years of peace, we still carry a terrible cough to remind us of those terrible days, You See?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” I will help you and all of Bonta in any way I can. My Mother is Felice of Amakina Village, and she can make any sort of potion that can be made. I am her son, and apprentice.”  
Shibu's more detailed introduction seemed to stop the King where he sat for a moment. 

“Felice?” he wondered, aloud but gently under his breath as his now clear blue eyes took on a distant gleam of memory. “Please, we would know more about you, my lad.” The King asked in a subdued voice.

“Shibu has a noble spirit, and helps everyone he can. We saw that today when Shibu helped us find our lost daughter. I wish many others in Court had a heart like Squire Shibu’s, Great King Louis.”

When Sir Reginald was finished speaking, there came to King Louis’s eyes a bright blue shimmer of inspiration.

“Your wish is my command, old friend.” The King replied with what passed for a trace of a smile. The monarch of Bonta gathered himself slowly, to sit up more correctly and formally upon the throne.

“Lend me your sword, will you, old friend?” King Louis asked.

Instantly, Sir Reginald flipped the sword he was holding in his grasp, offering the hilt of the sword over his forearm, to the King.

Louis, who was still seated upon the Throne, swished the blade through the air in a well practiced figure eight motion which was still natural and fluid, in spite of the King's advancing years.

“Shibu?” The King called out firmly.

Shibu stood up at once, and stepped quickly to the front of the throne, the proper five paces distant from the King.  
King Louis smiled gently at the boy as he directed him with the point of the rapier.

“Kneel before us, Shibu of Amakina.” The King recited. 

Shibu dropped smoothly to one knee before the throne.

King Louis wielded the sword, making the same figure eight motion slowly with the blade before he tapped Shibu gently upon each shoulder with the flat of the blade.

“We create you a Noble of Bonta, to be henceforth known as Squire Shibu of Amakina Village, and potion maker to the Guard Royal.” King Louis announced solemnly to his court. “And holder of the Royal Warrant for potions used by the throne.” Arise, Squire Shibu, and be recognized by the nobles and ladies of Bonta, for your gallant conduct to our subjects, and your unselfish assistance to the throne.”

King Louis offered Sir Reginald his sword back, and the man in the eye patch took it with a deep and reverent bow to the King. But even as he bowed, Shibu saw Sir Reginald Smile broadly in his direction.

“With your Majesty's kind permission, I shall withdraw for now, to await your pleasure, along with my Lady wife and my daughter. I trust that Your newest Squire shall keep matters well in hand for Your Majesty.”

“Granted with all our heart, my most loyal of Knights.” The King replied. “We shall hope to see you all tonight, at the Grand Banquet.”

“With the greatest of pleasure and anticipation, Sire.”

Sir Reginald put out his hand, and he and his wife, carrying their cherubic daughter walked in a slow and courtly manner toward a side door, opened for them by one of the footmen.

As the couple walked away, their daughter caught sight of Shibu again, and the little girl blew him a gentle kiss!

Shibu's cheeks were slightly rosy as he turned his attention back to the Throne.

The long line of people waiting to see the King, had long since reassembled once the momentary excitement was gone, and they waited respectfully once again to see the King. All of them, along with the ladies and the gentleman of the court gathered in the audience chamber broke into a rousing round of more than polite applause.  
Shibu did what came naturally to him. He stood up, and stood next to the right side of the throne, bowing from the waist, the way Cici had taught him when addressing someone from court.

The members of the court knew the gesture, and their gratitude and applause grew louder. It continued for a minute or two, before another guard, posted outside the throne room slipped easily and quietly into the room. He approached the throne from the left side, and whispered into the ear of the King.  
After a moment, King Louis held up his hand, and the throne room fell absolutely silent.


	25. Reckoning

“My guards, who have redeemed themselves, tell me that Count Maxim, and his confederate have been taken in charge, and they await my displeasure.” King Louis announced to both Shibu and the court at large. “Bring in these malefactors, that they might face Bontarian Justice!”

The remaining people in the audience line stood aside once more, and four of the Royal guards marched slowly and solemnly back into the throne room.

Standing beside the throne, Shibu could see a pair of familiar figures held closely in the middle of two guards in front, and the two guards behind. One of the Guards in the back carried a large Brown chest, rather than a halberd.

Shibu was not at all surprised to see Count Maxim under guard. But he was a bit more surprised when he saw Fel standing next to the Count, under guard, and looking slightly worse for wear. As they marched slowly up the main red carpeted aisle of the throne room, Shibu noticed Brown scuffs, and many dents in the guards armor. And it seemed that two of the guardsmen had rather prominent black eyes!

The contingent of four guards and two prisoners marched slowly up to the throne, and at a distance of ten paces, the two guards in front stepped back and away, while the two guards behind gave Fel and Count Maxim a sharp shove, causing the prisoners to stumble forward, and land on their knees in front of the King.

Shibu saw Louis' expression change just a bit as he saw the King recognize the figure of Count Maxim.

“You!” The King exclaimed loudly, so that all present at court could hear him. “We know you, do we not, Brother?” The King asked with a touch of venom in his voice. “Making trouble again are you, you black sheep?”

“But your Majesty..” Count Maxim began to reply, but as he stood up and tried to bow to the throne, one of the guards behind him put him on his knees again before the King.

“Be silent!” Louis snapped angrily. “You have earned the full weight of our displeasure.” The King continued. “Squire Shibu reports to us that you have issued false warrants for potions of healing.” The King went on.

At that point, Maxim dared to look up, and saw Shibu standing on the right-hand side of the throne.

“Ah, Shibu, my fine Lad!” Please tell the King that we are innocent, my boy!” Maxim begged in a strained voice.

“Squire Shibu will have his say, but he is not your justice here. I am.” The King replied before Shibu could speak.

“You know the penalty in Bonta for issuing false Royal warrants, Brother-by-half?”

“Yes, Sire.” Maxim said, sounding crushed and dejected. All traces of his false nobility gone away. “Exile from Bonta, for as long as your Majesty may decree.” Maxim said sounding sad and sullen. 

“Before you hear my displeasure, I grant your request, and we will hear from Squire Shibu.” The King pronounced solemnly.

Shibu step forward, going down on one knee beside the throne, so he could look Maxim and Fel directly in the eyes.

But the clear blue eyes which Maxim knew so well were not angry. Only filled with an overwhelming disappointment.

“You lied to me. You lied to all of us in the village.” Shibu said to Maxim directly. “Tell me why.” Shibu said formally to both of his traveling companions.

“Our intentions were honorable, Shibu.” Count Maxim responded, speaking slowly as he gathered his thoughts. “We heard of the renowned of your mother’s potions, and we wanted some for the royal guards. I knew that once the King found out how good the potions were, he would grant you and your family a warrant to make them.” 

Count Maxim explained in what seemed an honest way, as Shibu’s blue eyes never left Maxim’s face.

But when Maxim was finished, Shibu noticed Fel looking at his Master with the strange expression. Fel glanced at Shibu and spoke out in his own turn.

“Count Maxim is lying, Your Honor.” Fel responded simply, sparing few words.

“Silence dog! Or you’ll feel my whip!” Maxim snapped quickly, before Fel could say anything more.

“Silence!” King Louis snapped in turn. “No one who comes before us and speaks the truth shall be harmed!”

Then King Louis glanced toward Shibu. “Do you know this Ogenak?, Squire Shibu?” King Louis asked formally.

“Yes, your Majesty. His name is Fel, servant and attendant to Count Maxim.” Shibu told the King.

“Arise before us, Fel, and speak the truth. You have our promise that you will come to no harm, as long as you speak the truth.”

Fel rose slowly from his place beside Count Maxim, standing up to his full height, he was better than twice as tall as any of the guards in the throne room. Fel glanced up at Shibu, who nodded in return.

“Maxim speaks only part of the truth. We did hear of your mother’s potions. Maxim wanted to get many of them, because he knew he would need them for his bandit henchmen.” Fel told the court, as everyone in the throne room listened to his testimony.

“They intend to-”

“Your Majesty! Maxim blurted out, cutting Fel off quickly. You would take the word of a servant over your own kin?” Maxim asked in an astonished voice.

“Silence, you snake!” King Louis interjected. “Continue, Friend Fel.” The Ruler of Bonta said.

“Maxim wants to place himself on your throne, with the aid of the Shadow Bandits, Sire.”

When Fel was finished speaking, he made a point of stepping back, and kneeling once again in the company of the guards, however this time the canine retainer maintained a noticeable distance from Count Maxim.

Standing close by, Shibu could feel the air in the room change, along with the fair complexion of the King.

“You unspeakable blagard!” King Louis fairly erupted once Fel was done. “You would betray Bonta to usurp my crown? King Louis said scornfully, looking at his half Brother through blue eyes that flickered with anger. “Shibu, and even Fel here are more worthy to be both Bontarian and noble, then you were ever born to be!” King Louis said. “Fortunately two loyal Bontarians put an end to your scheme!”

“Your Majesty, may I speak?” Shibu’s cautious request seemed to pour oil on the tumultuous anger within the King.

“Most assuredly, Squire Shibu. Because you and your family have been victims, I would hear what it is you would decree as punishment for these two.” The King replied.

Shibu’s first glance was toward Count Maxim.

There was deep-rooted fear in the noble’s eyes.

“You came as a friend. You betrayed everyone who trusted you. And then you stole from the ones that I love.” Shibu began slowly.

Maxim, who was allowed to look up high enough to see Shibu’s face, saw no anger, nor the spark of vengeance in the pure blue eyes that seemed to melt right through Maxim. Instead, all the noble saw in those eyes was an even deeper light of disappointment and betrayal.

“You have chosen to live without a heart. I don’t understand how anyone can choose to do such a thing. But to live the life you have chosen, you must do so far away from other people, who would become your victims, as we did.” Shibu said to Maxim in a low voice cracking with emotion as he spoke.

Then Shibu turned, and with a courtly bow, he spoke to King Louis. “There is no want of blood, nor the desire for vengeance in my heart, your Majesty. Just to keep him from hurting anyone else, in the same way he hurt us.” Shibu’s words came with a quiet dignity that seemed to give the young boy an age and a wisdom far beyond his years.  
When Shibu was done, he bowed once more, and knelt down on one knee before the throne.

“Hear you now the voice of justice, Maxim, Prince royal, and noble of Bonta.” King Louis began. “Your treachery is not against me, but it is against my people, which I cannot forgive.” The ruler of Bonta began.

“You shall forfeit all lands, titles, and the nobility of your birthright. You are stripped of all property and chattel within our realm. You shall be given the standard Secours due to any Bontarian, and then you shall be taken to whichever boundary of our realm is your choosing. There, you shall be exiled from the kingdom of Bonta for the remainder of your lifetime. To return here shall be upon pain of your freedom, or your life. I shall not see your face again. If I do, you shall be cast into the deepest dungeon of Bonta, there to abide the last day of your life, without hope of release nor mercy until that day.” King Louis pronounced solemnly from the throne, his voice hard and steady with every word he spoke.

“Royal guards!” King Louis commanded at last. “Take this traitor from my sight forever, and carry out his sentence.”

Almost before the King had finished speaking, a group of four heavily armored guards seem to pounce upon Maxim, and he was literally dragged away, across the floor of the throne room, and out of the main doors, which were closed behind him by two more of the guards.  
But there was still one of two prisoners at the feet of the King.

“And what say you to the second of these two, Squire Shibu?” The King asked the dark-haired boy.

Shibu stood up slowly, walked a few paces away from the throne, and knelt in front of Fel, so that the canine servant could share gaze with the blue eyes he knew so well.

“You came among us as a servant. But the word no one wanted to hear or see was “slave.” Shibu told him quietly. “Is the slave responsible for the crimes of the Master?”

This question seemed to be directed less at Fel, and more to the assembled crowd in the throne room.

A light buzz of whispered conversation spread quickly among the crowd, before one of the guards struck the floor sharply with the handle of his halberd.  
This gesture and the sound of it echoing in the hall restored an instant and complete silence.

“You became my friend as we traveled, and I saw and felt the feelings you could not hide under your obedience.” Shibu said to the canine, once more sounding much wiser and more sympathetic than his years might allow.

Today, you broke the chains of a slave, by speaking the truth, to defend a friend. In every way that matters, I think you’re free. You can now decide how you wish to live, and that is also a form of justice. Your sentence is to be yourself, and not what someone else would make of you.”

Shibu fell silent, and stood up in front of Fel.

“Stand up now, and live as you choose, my friend.”

Shibu cast a glance slightly behind him, over his shoulder towards the throne. He realized he might have overstepped his bounds. But he saw King Louis make a short sweeping gesture with the staff he held in one hand.

The four guards still surrounding Fel seemed to melt away, leaving Fel and Shibu both standing in front of the throne.

Both the canine and the blue-eyed boy knelt again quickly, in a gesture of respect. But this time, Fel was on one knee, rather than both knees. The gesture made all the difference in the world to him.

But King Louis was distracted for a moment, as he looked down at the darker canine figure now asking for Royal indulgence. Instead, King Louis gentle blue eyes were fixed on Shibu, who rose in the same way next to his friend.

“Bless my soul if there is an still one noble heart left in Bonta.” The King said quietly almost to himself rather than to his assembled court.

“Fel, friend of Shibu, for there is no better title that I might grant you. Arise, and consider yourself liberated within the freehold of the Kingdom of Bonta.” The King pronounced solemnly. “It is our regal pleasure to create you a citizen of Bonta, with all rights, freedoms and responsibilities due to a citizen.”

Shibu stood up at the same time, and caught the glimmer of a warm, bright light in Fel’s wet eyes.

“Thank you your Majesty.” Fel spoke out in a voice that fought not to break as he spoke. “My loyalty is yours, for the rest of my days. I so swear.”

“I beg your Majesty’s indulgence.” Shibu spoke up, knowing this was the correct way to ask a favor from the King.

“Granted, Squire Shibu. What have you to say?”

“Thank you for freeing my friend.” Shibu began. “But for him to prosper, he must also find a purpose.” Shibu told King Louis.

“Well spoken, Squire Shibu. Do you have something in mind?”

“I’m certain that Fel is sorry for giving your guards such a hard time.” Shibu began, considering the idea for a moment. “Perhaps someone who fights as well as he does might make a fine watchman, or perhaps, with your indulgence and his training, one day a fine member of the Royal Guard.”

At that moment, Shibu felt two sets of eyes upon him. One set of sparkling blue, and another set, the color of forest green.

As Shibu looked from one face to the other, he saw the same expression of delight, both in the King’s face, and upon Fel’s canine countenance as well!

“Done, and done again, Squire Shibu!” King Louis pronounced with glee in his voice, and a smile which he had not used in too long.

“Captain of the guard!” King Louis called out.

At his King’s command, another figure appeared, coming out the door directly in back of the throne.  
This guardsman wore a golden chain of rank along with the unique set of plated armor which made him stand out among the other guardsman.

The Captain of the Guard marched smartly around the throne careful to stay on the velvet carpet, so his armored boots would not clatter upon the marble floor. He presented himself, five paces back from the throne, with a smart salute.

“Your orders, Noble Sire?” He asked in a deep, stern voice filled with authority.

“The Royal guard has a new recruit, my Captain.” The King pronounced. “Take him under your charge, and see personally to his training. We shall follow his career with anticipation.”

“As you command, my liege.” The guard captain replied, glancing quickly toward Fel, who was already standing at attention only a few paces distant.

“Thank you, Squire blue eyes.” Fel whispered to Shibu gently as they stood close together.

“Silence in the ranks!” The Guard Captain bellowed. “Recruit into line, Follow me, Forward March!”

Fel and the guard captain seemed to move as one man, as the pair bowed first to the throne, and then made a quick march for the door which had been opened for them behind the throne. In a few quick steps, both of them were gone from sight.


	26. Reunions

"Does our newest Squire desire anything other?” King Louis asked from the throne. “Especially in gratitude from the monarch?” King Louis added.

“Your Majesty, the Cra have a saying. ”Always leave one arrow in the quiver.” Shibu replied. “I can ask no more of you then you have so generously given.” Shibu replied, as the etiquette of the court required him to do.

“Fear not, Squire.” The King replied sounding regal. “We are well certain that what you will do for us will merit all the rewards which we are certain lay in your future.” King Louis replied, as the etiquette of the court required of the King.

But Louis beckoned Shibu closer with a subtle gesture, meant to be more private between the two.

Shibu stepped closer still.

“You’ve done fair enough for me this day, squire Shibu. But is there nothing you wish for yourself?”

“There is, your Majesty.” Shibu finally confessed in a quiet whisper. “I wish my mother and my big sister could be here too.’

King Louis nodded sympathetically, as Shibu stepped back a bit from the throne.

“Summon Master Chang into the Royal presence, at once!” King Louis called out with a tone of stern authority.  
Almost before the echo of his words had died away inside the throne room, a small orb of bright sparkling light seem to appear in the space all its own, just a few steps away from the throne.

Before Shibu could get a very good look at it, the orb became a slender column of light the same color as the orb. 

From the middle of this column of light, there stepped a tall, slender figure, more than three times taller than anyone else in the room. The new arrival wore a sleek, close-fitting gray cloak, closed at the throat by a glowing gemstone larger than a dragon turkey egg. Beneath the cloak were light gray robes, that were so long and flowing that no one could see any sign of his feet. His clothing alone would have made him one of the most remarkable figures in any kingdom.

But what caught and held Shibu’s attention as the figure appeared was not his accouterments. Shibu found himself unable, and perhaps unwilling, to look away from the pure blue, gem like quality of the light in Chang’s eyes!

Shibu suddenly found it difficult to breathe as he looked into another set of eyes which identically matched his own! 

Master Chang didn’t walk. Rather, he seemed to flow, like the steady current of the river, or leaf borne on the wind.  
Chang seemed to flow around, rather than through the members of the royal court, and the people gathered before the throne for the Royal audience.

Chang came close enough to Shibu that the dark-haired boy might have reached out and touched the Master's robes out of simple curiosity. But something deeper inside him told Shibu not to try. The boy had never been afraid of anyone or anything that he could remember. And it was still true. But what restrained Shibu’s hand wasn’t fear. It was a sort of respect, the kind that Shibu felt at home when he stood among his mother’s most prized books.

Shibu held his place, but his eyes never left the tall, serene figure that swept by him by a step or two, before Chang knelt with a stately sweeping bow to the throne.

“What service may I perform for your most august Majesty, and the citizens of The White City?”

Hearing Chang speak took Shibu’s breath away. He did not hear Chang’s words with his ears as strongly as Shibu felt them echo in his mind!

“We have two special dignitaries who require transportation into our presence.” King Louis told Master Chang directly.

It was then that Chang turned his head slightly, and for the first time looked directly at Shibu.

For just a moment, Shibu felt smaller in those deep blue eyes, than he ever had before. But then, a moment later, in the same blue light, Shibu felt himself uplifted somehow, and he could only think of two people, and absolutely nothing else.

“Madame Felice of Amakina, and Celia Starshine, The Cra hunter, Your Highness?” Chang asked King Louis without ever looking away from Shibu.

King Louis smiled with delight at the mixture of shock and surprise that mingled in Shibu’s expression as he heard their names. “Exactly so, Master Chang. You would do The Throne High Service if you could bring these two before us now, Thank you.” King Louis said to the tall figure before him.

“As your Majesty desires, so shall we do.” Replied Master Chang, who bowed, lowering his head to the King.

When Chang stood up again once more to his full height, he still seem to be looking directly at Shibu as he spoke.

“I shall need your help, little brother.” But this time, Chang’s request, although seemingly spoken aloud, could be heard only in Shibu’s mind.

Before Master Chang offered any explanation, Shibu saw the Master's cape drop away from his left shoulder, and as the Master drew back one arm, and thrust the other one forward, the form of a bow made of a pure white, nearly blinding light came to Master Chang’s hands.

The bow itself was six times larger than any great longbow, Shibu had ever seen in any of Cici’s ancient books.

Yet, as Master Chang drew the bow, he did so in such a way as to offer the very end of the bottom limb to Shibu’s touch.

Place your hand there, little brother, and think of they who are your heart’s desire.

Once again, Chang’s thoughts became as if the words were spoken directly into Shibu’s mind, so that no other could hear them.

Shibu obeyed, and suddenly he could see Felice and Cici directly in front of him, as if someone had opened a window through all of the time and distance between them. Shibu held the sweet warm thought for just a moment, and that was enough.

Chang loosed the arrow from the bow, and its substance seemed to pass through the marble walls, and the translucent blue glass dome over the top of the throne room. But as it left Chang’s bow, Shibu saw the arrow change color. It altered from the same blinding white as the bow from which it had come to a soft, and gentle green color, like the purest green in all the forests that Shibu knew so well.

Shibu instantly knew this arrow, as well as he did his own fingers.

An arrow of recall!

Shibu knew what Cici would do when she saw it.

Almost before he was done thinking about it, there was a white flash!

Its brightness stole Shibu’s eyesight for just a moment, but as the flash faded, and his vision returned, Shibu could see both Cici and Felice standing a short distance away! And this time, they were more than sweet memories!

“Mom! Cici! Over here!”

“Shibu, my boy!” Felice practically shouted as she zipped directly toward him, and managed to lift him off the floor as she hugged him close, as her wings beat furiously with happiness.

Shibu was so happy, he didn’t know he was crying, but his first words to his mother were familiar ones. “Mom!” Shibu whispered quickly. “The King.. The court.. I can’t breathe!” Shibu whispered almost frantically, as Felice practically squeezed the stuffing out of him!  
Somewhat absently, in reaction to Shibu’s whisper, Felice looked up, and looked around her as she fluttered in midair.

It took only a moment for Felice to know exactly where she was.

During that same moment, her lightly strawberry cheeks seemed to blush as red as the fire flowers in bloom!

Only then did Felice’s ears bring her something other than her own heartbeat. What she had first taken for thunder was the gentle applause of every single person in the throne room, including the King, who wore the biggest smile that Shibu had ever seen from the diminutive monarch.

Felice set Shibu down quickly, back firmly on his own two feet. She began brushing him off frantically.

“My stars!” Felice whispered quickly. “This is the court of Bonta! We’ve got to get you looking your best before you see--“

“See the King?” Shibu asked playfully. “He’s right over there, and we met some time ago. It’s okay mom, really it is.” Shibu explained hurriedly to Felice.

But the Enripsa healer only became more flustered upon hearing the words of her son. Very soon, Felice was as red as a ripe strawberry, and so breathless that she nearly fainted from the anxiety, as the King of Bonta smiled at her, and waved mischievously from the throne!

While most of the focus was on Shibu and his mother, there was another figure with the bow standing calmly next to Chang as his arrow of recall faded away, it’s mission accomplished.

Cici looked up at the abnormally tall figure next to her, and without the slightest trace of fear or fluster in her eyes or her voice, Celia Starshine made a courtly bow to Chang, by way of both thanks, and reunion.

“Thank you so much. The arrow saved us so much time, and Felice had become very worried about Shibu.” Cici explained as she looked up transfixed by eyes as blue as Shibu’s. 

“T’was Shibu’s love that fetched you here, Fair Cra.” Chang replied. “My bow did nothing but provide another, quicker road to follow.” Chang replied easily. “Go see little brother now, Cici. For he needs you, as much as Felice. Hurry now.”

Cici nodded, and going up on her toes in her best Rangers run, Cici dashed directly at Shibu across the marble floor which allowed the young Ranger to move more swiftly than any deer.

Felice had barely set him down, and Shibu had barely caught his first breath when another familiar figure made a high, bounding jump worthy of a stag into the middle of the group!

“Shibu!” Cici shouted, forgetting entirely where she was, and not caring in the least except for the little brother that she swept into her arms into a more gentle, but equally loving hug. 

“Hey little brother! What have you been up to? We hadn’t heard a word from you in days.” Cici asked him, as she tousled the thick mop of black hair visible under his unique hat.

“Well..” Shibu replied slowly. “That might take some explaining, and I’m not sure I’m the best one to tell you all that’s happened.” Shibu replied more confidently as he spoke up.

“Is Dylan all Right?” Shibu took a moment to ask with a note of urgency. 

“He’s Fine, Little Brother. He volunteered to stay behind and look after the folks back home.” Cici replied with a quiet, confidence which warmed Shibu’s heart, until his face showed a smile. 

“He gave me a message for you too Shibu.” Cici disclosed, matching Shibu’s smile. “He said to tell you that to kill a snake, go for the head.” Cici told her brother in a Ranger’s whisper. “What did he mean by that, Shibu? Cici asked.

“Tell you later, when it all works out.”

Their whispered conversation was cut short by another sound which rose inside the Throne room.

Applause from the assembled citizens in the throne room died away. It was a slight, but still slightly raspy cough, directly from the throne!

“Perhaps I can assist.. Squire Shibu, if he will be so good to get me another of the fine potions which he brought with him.” King Louis asked softly, still struggling to find his voice in spite of the cough.

“My stars!” Felice piped up quickly. “Please stay still your Majesty, I’ve heard that cough before!” Felice fluttered quickly into midair, and flew quickly toward the throne itself.

As she went, Felice took one of the familiar bottles which she always carried out of the pocket of her smock. Before Felice had stopped moving, the small bottle was open, and Felice was hovering at the side of the King, who gladly took more of the warm ruby red liquid down his throat.

There was a brief interval for the potion to work this time, but after a moment, King Louis set himself up straighter than before as he sat on the throne, and as he spoke, his voice and manner had restored vigor and strength about them.

“Ah, thank you, Felice!” King Louis said in a renewed and much stronger voice. “This is proof positive that you and Shibu and none other, have made these wonderful potions.” King Louis told the Enripsa, as Felice blushed again, this time with modest pride.

“Thank you very much your Maj-“ Felice stopped in the middle of her salutation, as she glanced into the King's blue eyes for what seemed the first time. But as she looked at them, an expression of familiarity flickered through her eyes and across her face.

“Louis?” Felice wondered aloud. “Prince Louis? Is that you, Louis De la Fer? Prince of Bonta?” Felice stammered for a moment, unsure what she knew in her mind, or in her heart.

“No one since the siege of Bonta has called me that, Felice of Amakina.” We are now Louis IV, King of Bonta.” The King pronounced with a gentle grandeur worthy of his former and present titles.

“As a young girl, helping my mother, I treated a prince of the royal house after he was touched by the black mist.” Felice remembered fondly, but shuttering slightly at the awful memory of the darkest day Bonta had ever known.

Sitting on the throne, Louis sat completely up right, and moved far forward in his seat to take a long deep look at the cherubic strawberry face that fluttered in front of his own.

“Fel-ice?” He repeated slowly, as a nearly forgotten memory returned to an older man from his boyhood. “Felice, of clan Silverwood?”

“I am, your Royal Highness.” Felice replied without putting on airs. “I was the youngest daughter of Silverwood, your Majesty.” Felice remembered, treading delicately on the edges of a fond memory set among some of the worst ones she had ever known.

As King Louis looked even more deeply at Felice, their noses touched gently, and the King's recall of the memory was complete. As he spoke, the elderly monarch had tears of joy in his eyes.

“Welcome home, Felice of Silverwood. Welcome forever to all of you and yours, from one who has never forgotten the life you returned to him.” King Louis said to Felice, his voice breaking at last as he embraced her.

As the pair parted, King Louis could manage but a few words. He used them wisely.

“Shibu is your adopted son, my dear?” King Louis asked.

“He is my son, my life, and my joy, Your Highness.” Felice responded, being capable of only a few words of her own.

“Squire Shibu and Master Chang, stand before me.” King Louis commanded, as Felice fluttered to one side, and took the opportunity to use her lace hanky on her moist eyes.

Master Chang put out one finger. It touched Shibu who was standing next to him, as gently as a butterfly lighting on the back of his hand.  
The next moment that Shibu could sense anything, both he and Chang were standing side-by-side, the proper five paces distance from the throne.

“By your command, noble highness.” Master Chang said as he bowed, and came down to one knee so that he and Shibu could be something close to the same size as they stood together before the King.

“It is our royal pleasure that Squire Shibu shall be apprenticed this day to the noble Master Chang, who has been of long, kind, and noble service to us.” The King commanded, his voice restored along with his health.

“It is our pleasure moreover, that she who has been known as Felice of Amakina, shall also be created the title of Lady Felice Silverwood, potion maker in chief to the royal house of Bonta in perpetuity.”

As Shibu stood back, listening with pride as his mother became Ennobled, Shibu felt someone slip up behind him with a Ranger’s silent step.

“It seems you’ve been busy, little brother!” Cici whispered to him, using the forest voice that only other rangers could hear.

All Shibu could do was manage a modest smile, before King Louis looked in his direction once again.

“Squire Shibu, attend us please.” King Louis commanded firmly.

Shibu rose slowly from his spot at Chang side, and walked up the series of steps directly in front of the throne. Shibu knelt again at the top of the steps, this time only a single pace distant from the King.

“At your command, noble highness.” Shibu repeated, already having learned something from his new Master. The moment was not lost on King Louis who smiled in a warm and friendly way at the boy with a black hair.

“Fine fellow!” The King whispered to him by way of complement. “Now is this something sort of like what you wished for?” King Louis asked Shibu.

“Oh yes, your high majesty!” Shibu answered quickly. “Even if I were back home.” Shibu added quickly.

“Home is where your family is, Shibu. You have helped me learn that today as well. We find ourselves even more deeply in your debt, my fine young Squire.” The King told Shibu.

“I wish all my friends in Amakina could be as happy as I am right now.” Shibu responded, speaking from his heart rather than from his mind.

“Then you must bring them here to visit, all of them.” King Louis said simply.

Shibu’s face lit up like the brightest full moon of the autumn sky.

“But your Majesty has already done so much for us.” Shibu replied.

“Never fear my boy.” The King replied with a regal wink. “With the potions you and your mother can make together, I don’t believe money will be a problem from now on.”

“Your Majesty, may I ask one more thing, for my big sister Cici?”

“What would you have, before I declare celebrations for this day throughout all of Bonta, my fine noble squire?”

“You see, your Majesty, I owe my big sister a bow.” Shibu said by way of slight embarrassment. “And Cici taught me that Cra always pay their debts.”

Behind him by a few steps, Shibu could hear Cici gasp softly.

“As King of Bonta, and admirer of the Cra, who stood at our side during the siege of Bonta when I was young, I grant Cra Celia Starshine the gift of the finest bow that can be crafted in all of Bonta, in memory of the sacrifice and loyalty of her people.”

A few steps behind him, only Shibu’s Cra trained ears could hear the gentle sound of Cici’s tears falling gently onto the velveteen carpet around the throne.

“Thank you, most noble sire.” Shibu responded in the well mannered way. “Your generosity and kindness touch my heart, and leave me without breath in wonder. I am yours in perpetuity, your Majesty.” Shibu said. He wasn’t quite sure what some of the words meant, but he knew that when speaking from your heart, words didn’t matter quite so much.

“I hope Your Majesty might be pleased to grant my Brother Shibu leave to carry a bow within these walls.” Cici asked the throne. Her voice wavered at first but then became stronger as she continued. “I swear upon my faith in Cra that squire Shibu has been my student since he has been able to stand and walk, and that upon mine own life, I avow that he keeps the code of the Ranger as much as any Cra who will stand forever at your own right hand.”  
Cici told King Louis formally, in a stern tone of voice. 'Shibu is my heart, and I take him in as I do all the blessings of the bow.”

King Louis considered the request. Cici knew that fewer than a dozen of her people in five-hundred years had been granted what Shibu had heard Cici request. It was a promise to her People from the Kingdom of Bonta that carried back to the darkest days of the Siege almost half a century before.

“If Squire Shibu is as adept with his bow as he has proved to be with a potion, and the Cra elders will test him, I will grant the dispensation which I extended to the entire Cra people in Bonta's darkest hour.” King Louis replied, remembering another promise made in days bygone, and now renewed in this day and time.

“For now, my fine young squire, you belong at the side of Master Chang. It is there that you may serve me most faithfully and well.” The King told the boy with a black hair.


	27. Rise of the Blue Knight

King Louis had barely finished speaking, when the stately calm of the throne room was broken by the rapid and urgent peeling of a loud bell!  
Shibu saw the confusion cross the King’s face, but it lasted only a moment. Then the monarch moved.

“Guards, To me!” King Louis called out. “What is that alarm?”

The question seemed to pass from guard to guard within the throne room, until two of the guards opened the big doors ever so slightly, and then stepped out of the ceremonial room.

One of the pair returned after a moment, and ran across the room quickly, barely stopping to bow before the Throne!

“Your Majesty! Maxim has escaped custody, using some sort of vile potion hidden upon his person.” The guard reported quickly. “He reappeared in the company of three score armed bandits. They now press an attack upon the castle's keep!”

“Chamberlain, make certain the citizens here are safe!” the King ordered.

“Yes, Sire!” One of the well dressed attendants to the King replied. The attendant stepped forward and spoke sternly to the crowd waiting to see the King.

“Your attention Please!” The Chamberlain called out. “For Security reasons, The General Audience is concluded for today. Please leave now, as quickly and quietly as you can. You will be seen by King Louis tomorrow at this time, Please go now.”

Shibu watched as the crowd of disappointed people turned from the orderly line they were in, and shuffle slowly toward another,smaller set of wooden doors which opened on the other side of the Throne room.

Four of the largest royal guards framed the open door, as the Chamberlain spoke up again. “Please use the far doors, ladies and gentleman. You will be safer in the interior passages during the emergency.”

Some of the citizens were replaced by a new squad of guards, who marched into the throne room as the citizens walked quickly into the offered passageway.

Once the throne room was clear of the line of people, the guards closed and bolted the wooden doors and fell back into formation with the other armored men.

They posted themselves in a phalanx, forming a solid block of pointed steel within the throne room.  
Shibu felt safer when he noticed that their commander was also a familiar face!

“Theo!” Shibu called out in the direction of the block of guards.

Shibu wanted to snatch the call itself from the air. He realized that Theo could make no reply, as the Officer was now on duty, and also before the King! But beneath the rounded helmet, Theo did manage a quick smile, and a confident wink in Shibu's direction!

“Your Majesty?” Shibu asked, looking toward the Throne.

The King answered by holding up his hand for a moment, silencing Shibu as he spoke next.

“Guards! Once our people are safe, seal and bar the doors, and admit no one unless I command it!” the King ordered.

“At your command, Sire!” one of the armored guards called back obediently.

Shibu heard the massive doors close at last with a hollow sound that echoed thru the long crystal room. At almost the same time, two gleaming steel bars slid across the width of both marble doors. It looked imposing and solid enough to stop a dragon.

But Shibu was still worried, and it showed in his face as he glanced again at the King.

“Your highness, Maxim wants me. Let me go find him.” Shibu said.

“Stand your ground, Little Brother!” The exclamation came from Master Chang, who was standing close at Shibu’s side. “You are the best defense for the King now.” Chang told Shibu, speaking quickly.

“Me?” Shibu exclaimed. “What can I do that the soldiers can’t?”

“More than you know, Little brother. Be still now. Clear your mind, close your eyes, and think of no one except Maxim.” Chang Told Shibu seriously.

“Guards!” King Louis shouted. “Rally to me!” Eight of the biggest armored men Shibu had ever seen rushed toward the throne. Three men stood on each side, Theo now stood poised for battle directly in front of the throne and one more guard fell in behind where the King sat.

As the throne room became unnaturally quiet, Shibu’s senses told him more than his eyes could.

Felice and Cici were behind him, and that made Shibu feel more calm and allowed him to focus as Chang instructed.

Shibu's vision of the Throne Room was washed in a soft blue light. There came a moment when Shibu could feel everyone within the marble hall. Each of them were vividly outlined in the same blue energy Shibu had seen come to his eyes before.

But then, Shibu took notice of a strange spot that shimmered slightly within the soft blue field before his eyes. This flicker had no familiar shape to it, but there was enough of a change in the blue light for Shibu to both sense and see the tiny spot clearly.  
Before Shibu could speak a word of warning, the regal hall was filled with the echo of another voice, not his own.

“Your loyal guards will not save you this time, Pretender!”

The disembodied voice seemed to come from everywhere within the room.

Shibu felt himself tense up like someone pulling on a cord to tighten the knot already inside him.

“You call me Pretender, you Charlatan?” The King replied, speaking aloud, so that all could hear him and know that he had not gone mad, but rather become angry.

“You are the liar, Louis of Bonta. You speak of the siege of Bonta. Tell your fine friends what really happened there.” Maxim's voice challenged with its own tone of anger.

“What would you know of those days?” Louis shot back, as quickly as any archer.

“I remember an Elder Prince lost, and how an unfit younger prince took up a mantle not his to take, You Thief!” Maxim hissed as if a giant snake now filled the throne room.

“You speak Treason, against your King!” Louis answered.

“One man's truth is another Man's treason, Tyrant.” Maxim answered. 

King Louis could almost feel many eyes upon him as he spoke next.   
“My Older Brother gave up his life defending Bonta!”

“Your Older Brother died taking an arrow meant for you. Isn't that so, Coward?”

“Yes.” King Louis replied, his voice suddenly sounding old and frail. “That much is the Truth.” The monarch admitted.

“Prince Karl was my half-brother. After he died, you sent our side of the family away, so you could claim the throne.” Maxim spoke with both anger and hurt in his voice.

“Here, you Lie, Maxim de la Fer.” Master Chang spoke up.

“The survivors of the siege elected Louis as the New King, because of his bravery and giving heart.” The Sage explained in defense of the King.

“Your kin wanted only to loot what was left of Bonta, and take all that had not been destroyed for themselves.' Master Chang concluded.

“Master Chang isn't the only one who remembers, You Rotter! I was there as well, remember?” The surprising interjection came from Theo, even as the loyal guard stood stalwart, directly in front of the throne, and his old friend.

“Your side of the family was the taking kind, that's sure.” Theo began. “Since you want so much of the truth to come out, why not tell all of us what happened to what was left of Bonta's gold reserve after the siege?” Theo asked bluntly. “Vanished it did, as I recall.” Theo paused and then continued in a slower, and thicker voice as memories returned to him.

“I was a young boot then, and one of the few soldiers we had left. I was posted to the treasury, with two of my best friends. Someone attacked us with a spell that night, and I was the only one left alive, as the gold was taken.” Theo recalled. “His Majesty pardoned me, and kept me around. As I recall it, we didn't see anymore of your kinfolks after that there awful night.” Theo revealed. “But that there was yesterday in my book. Good King Louis reigns here, and you are a usurper, Says I.” Theo continued defiantly. “If you want to harm His Majesty, you'll come through me, or die trying, You traitor!” Theo fell silent and snapped to a defensive pose in front of the King.

“So much talk, so little blood.” Maxim echoed in a menacing tone. “Aren't thrones always a matter of blood, somehow?”  
Maxim asked. “Perhaps we had better see some, and then we can decide if your blood is blue, or just as red as any other Commoner.”

At the mention of blood, Shibu felt something change, deep down inside him. Maxim meant killing, and that was a thought Shibu could not bear.

Shibu closed his eyes, As Master Chang instructed, and thought of Maxim. His world went from marble white to Blue, the same color as his eyes. Then, Shibu saw a silver smudge at the corner of the room!

“Master Chang, Maxim is here.” Shibu said calmly but seriously.

“In here, Now?” King Louis asked, slightly disbelieving in tone. “Then he's used a spell of some sort?”

Shibu saw the silver flicker move again. In a twinkling, it appeared on the other side of the room!

“Yes, Your Majesty. He’s moving around the room. He knows we can’t see him or catch him.” Shibu reported dutifully.

“Quicksilver Potion, Louis.” Felice spoke up urgently. “Speed that grants practical invisibility.”

“Likely another potion stolen with false paperwork.” Cici put in quickly.

“As sharp as an arrow from Cra's own quiver, my attractive Ranger!”  
Maxim's disembodied voice echoed off of the marble floors and the crystal walls of the regal room, lending his voice a darker air of malevolence.

“Shibu, your family is as unique as you yourself.” Maxim continued. “We Grant you a boon, as the rightful sovereign of Bonta. Swear Loyalty to my throne, and your family will have stature equal to your own.” Maxim said. “Surely you know as well as I do that none of these miserable common Bontarians has the will, or the skill to deny you anything that you can find the strength to take for yourself, Shibu! Swear loyalty to me, and the entire World of the Twelve will be laid at your feet, as well as at mine.”

“If I am as powerful as you say, why do I need you?” Shibu interjected.

“You have the skills, My boy, I have the wisdom to see they are properly employed.” Maxim answered. “Why stop with his pathetic Kingdom? Brackmar, Pandala? Who could stop our rule? They are but beads on a string before someone with our combined skills. Yours is the power, Shibu, but mime is the vision to see it used as befits someone of your station.”

Shibu didn't lower his hands as he answered back. “I see now that you're an evil man.” Shibu shot back, as quick as an arrow drawn from his own quiver. “Like all evil people, you have made one mistake.” Shibu snapped with a bit of his own venom in his voice.

“And just what mistake might that be, young one?” Count Maxim questioned, allowing just a bit of his own ego to show for the first time.

“These common Bontarians of whom you speak.” Shibu began slowly. “They are not your people, but they are mine,” Shibu explained. “They are my family, and I will not rule them.” Shibu continued with resolution. “But I will defend them, That is my promise.” Shibu replied simply.

“Come now, Shibu.” Maxim replied cooly. “You are superior to these people in every way. Surely, your own mind must tell you that they are already beaten.” Maxim retorted. "You, and Felice both know the power of the potions my troops hold. That Old Man and his tin plated guards have no chance against the powers that you know so well.”

Maxim made no reply. Instead, he allowed fear amplified by silence to work for him. The disgraced Royal understood that even in the moment of silence, Shibu's keen mind was working, as was his own.

“This battle was over before it began, Shibu, and you have helped to make it so. Because I admire your skill, and your strength, I give you one last chance. Join me, Eliotrope.”

“No.”

“Join me, or die.”

“I would rather die than see my Family enslaved, tyrant.”

“As you will, Shibu. What a senseless way for a race to die.” Maxim replied, his voice as cold as his heart.

“Fight me, Count, and we will see whom or what dies this day.” Shibu said with unexpected formality. His words cast a challenge to single combat as old as the castle around them.

“You need to be taught a lesson you never learned from your books, Blue Boy!” Maxim hissed. “How to bow before your betters.”

“My Teacher is a Sage, not a villain like you.” Shibu retorted. Enough talk! Defend yourself, and let history choose which one of us is right.”

“Very well, Shibu.” Maxim replied sounding a bit more tired, and even a bit sorry. “Sometimes Kings must rule by example. Let your downfall, and the extinction of your race be my first example of what waits for those who oppose me!”

“You black-hearted monster!” King Louis spoke out in a firm and angry voice. “It is you who forgets his station and those who are your betters. Fight me if you would claim my throne!”

“Your moment will come, pretender.” Maxim answered. “I intend to crush the life and snatch away your heart from you as surely as I am now invisible. You shall endure the vision of all here, killed by my own hand before your moment comes. Your last sight in life will be the unbearable sadness of seeing all that you love crumble into dust at the foot of your insignificant throne.” Maxim replied. “The first moment of my reign will be the moment I cut your beating heart from your decrepit body and show it to you before it is crushed beneath my heel.” 

“Guards, Arrest this snake.” King Louis ordered, sounding annoyed.

“No, Majesty!” Shibu snapped. “Maxim is counting on you to move your guards!”

“Hold!” the King barked at his guards just as they began to move. The guards snapped back to their places, and held fast.

“Majesty, only one of us can catch this usurper.” Chang spoke up.

“Make him visible, and I’ll pin him like a butterfly in a collection!” Cici replied. “Then I'll go up to the battlements and pin down a few of his friends.”

“No, my shining Cra.’ Chang answered quickly. “Even your eye is not fast enough.” Chang added. “Shibu is the one.”

“Tell me how!” Shibu shouted, excited by the moment but frustrated at the same time by not knowing exactly what he might do.

“Portals, young one.” Chang replied cryptically. “They compress space!”

Shibu heard the new word, and his mind snapped back to falling from the tree, what seemed so long ago.

The Blue openings!

Shibu understood, at long last!

He thrust out an arm that ended in a flat palm, pointed at the silver smudge that still lingered on the opposite side of the room.

Part of the blue light that Shibu could see seemed to come alive around him as he moved his hand barely enough to be seen.  
Before Shibu could think about it, there was an opening in the air near the corner of the room. It was made of a blue circle of the same light Shibu could see!

Shibu lowered his arm, and suddenly there was another opening beneath his feet, and he was falling thru it as fast as he could imagine!

Instantly, he was on the other side of the throne room, within arms reach of the silver smudge! Shibu made a lunging grab as he seemed to slip out of the portal and almost hover in mid-air.

But the silver apparition seemed to melt away as Shibu landed face down on the throne room floor, all the way across the room.

“Shibu!” Felice shouted, as her boy was slow to get up from the polished marble floor.

“Calm down!” Master Chang snapped. ”Up, Shibu!” The sage commanded sharply. “Use your strength, and apply your skills!” Chang told his distant apprentice. “Hold nothing back, Shibu!”

Shibu slapped a palm down on the solid floor. He lifted up from the floor, holding himself up on one arm. He tucked and rolled forward, his favorite Boufball move, and was standing up again before anyone in the room could breathe again.

“That’s my Little Brother! You're a Ranger! Now get that slimy thief!” Cici shouted out loud, rooting like a cheerleader at a match!

Shibu was up on his toes now, running faster than even Cici could believe! Shibu let out a short, ragged shout, and thrust out his palm four tines in rapid succession.

Four moves, four Portals, in a tight circle around what seemed to be another open space, closer to the Throne this time.  
Shibu leapt forward and up, seeming to fly into the first of the four portals in the middle of the room!

The next sound to fill the room sounded like four “claps” as if someone were banging two blocks of wood together. Shibu's wooden soled shoes had found their mark, as Shibu kicked, as hard and as fast as he could!

The last two of these sounds were followed by a sharp hiss of air, followed by the softer sound of someone falling to the floor!  
This time, it wasn’t Shibu!

A moment later, Shibu did appear from the forth portal in the circle, and drop toward the floor. But the way the boy fell this time, everyone could tell that Shibu landed standing upright on something.  
Something no one could see until the crumpled figure of Count Maxim seemed to flicker quickly and then become fully visible!

Shibu landed with his full weight on Maxim’s chest, and Maxim spewed a huge breath of air, followed by a small fountain of vomit!

Shibu drew back another kick, aimed at Maxim’s chin.

“Shibu, Enough! He is finished, now and forever!” Chang said more slowly, stripping the violence from the moment.

Shibu nodded tightly, and made a point of stepping heavily off of Maxim’s chest, but not before cleaning up his shoes, using Maxim’s black cape!

“Take him.” Was all Shibu said out loud before he dropped to his knees. He was still for just a moment, but then began to waver, and drop toward the floor himself!

Cici dashed into a Ranger’s run, and a side slide across the polished floor. Before Shibu’s head could collide with the cold marble, Shibu’s head was resting in Cici’s lap!

“Easy, Little Brother, You won, again.” Cici told Shibu in a gentle whisper as the Cra stroked his forehead tenderly.  
Felice zipped over to both of them with the speed of a hornet, her brushes at the ready.

“Guards!” King Louis ordered. “Clean up that garbage, and be sure to throw him all the way out of Bonta. If he returns, you may dispose of this garbage, permanently!”

“Permit me, Sire.” replied a familiar voice.  
It belonged to a wide, dark wall of Canine, now wearing metal armor and a helmet.

“Just the Canine we need, Fel!” King Louis spoke up with a smile. “Come take this garbage out.” Louis instructed. ‘I don’t want to make you feel lowly or demeaned, My fine Canine.”

“Not a worry Sire.” Fel replied. “I know this one, and all of his tricks. He won’t escape me. But he will wish that he could, I promise.” Fel replied with a toothy canine smile.

“Suits me!” Replied King Louis.

Fel clanked over to his fallen former Master, and lifted the fallen Noble up like a sack of wheat, draping Maxim across his shoulders.

Fel looked down just in time to see Shibu’s blue eyes flutter open.

“Hello, Blue Eyes. I thought you might be in trouble, but I suppose not.” Fel said. As he spoke, Fel extended the flat of one padded paw down toward Shibu.

Shibu had no voice, but his palm brushed across Fel’s padded paw gently, leaving behind a trace of soft blue light.

Shibu smiled at his friend, and then contentedly fell asleep, his head cradled in Cici’s lap!


	28. Awakening

Shibu’s eyes opened fast, and he sat bolt upright. Then, the comfy bed he found himself in did its very best to pull him back into the soft warmth of sleep.

“Good morning, Shibu? Did you sleep well, Darling?” Felice asked gently as she fluttered over to the bed with some difficulty to set a huge breakfast tray in front of her boy.

“I’m fine Mom, But King Louis and Master Chang—“ Shibu began urgently.

“Calm down Little Brother.” Another familiar voice said from across the bedroom that was as big as their entire house back in Amakina. “The King carried you in here himself.” Cici told Shibu. 

“And Master Chang gave you a potion even I’ve never seen before.” Felice filled in quickly. “He said you’d sleep for a whole day, and he was just a few minutes off, by the looks of things.”

“I have to get back.” Shibu said with resolution interrupted by continuous mouthfuls of pancakes and syrup.

The ornate double doors of the bedroom were opened by two men at arms before Shibu could manage to swallow and re-load again. The soldiers snapped to rigid attention as King Louis himself walked into the room, his footsteps silenced by the thick layers of tapestry on the floor beneath the royal feet.

“Good Morning, Shibu, Did you sleep well?” King Louis asked.

Shibu nearly panicked, swallowing an entire pancake in one gulp, while trying to sit at attention in the middle of the seemingly endless feather bed!

“Yes, Your Majesty, Thank you!” Shibu replied energetically. Sitting up as straight as a board.

“Relax Boy, or you might hurt yourself!” You're off duty and that’s a Royal order.”

King Louis watched with a gentle smile as Shibu relaxed, seeming to tuck himself back under his breakfast tray and into the vast, comfy bed.

“I came in because I wanted to thank you for what you did day before yesterday, my boy.” The King told Shibu. “You put my safety above your own. That’s called loyalty in my book.”

“It was nothing, Your Highness.” Shibu replied with more than the required modesty. “I knew Maxim had come back for revenge. I didn’t want to see you hurt.” Shibu explained.

“Thank you, Squire.” The King said formally. “Keep that up and we’ll have a new knight around here one day soon.” King Louis said in genuine good humor.

“I thought I’d also better talk to you before you hear some of the gossip going around this place.” King Louis continued more seriously after a moment.

“A lot of people have heard what you did, and how you did it.” King Louis remarked. “My Guards are fine men one and all, but every last one of them will talk too much if they don’t drown in beer first.” The King confessed to all three of his new friends.

“So the people know something about what happened.” King Louis said. “They also know that you’re not just a boy from Amakina anymore.”

“I see, Your Majesty.” Was all Shibu could manage as an answer. On the other side of the bed, Felice could see worry flicker into Shibu’s pure blue eyes.

“What you are is a hero, and a noble citizen of Bonta.” King Louis told Shibu looking the boy squarely in his blue eyes. “But people forget heroes in time, Shibu. And they will talk. That can’t be helped.” The King told him. “Now it’s my turn to protect you, my Boy.”

“When should I leave, your Majesty?” Shibu asked directly, trying not to sound hurt, and failing as he looked at King Louis' deeply lined face.

“Leave?!” Cici exploded in a fine fit of red-headed temper. “If we have to leave, We’ll all go live in Brakmar before we ever come back to Bonta again! How dare you? Shibu saved your life and your Throne!”

King Louis flinched and drew back a ways. He didn’t live to be his age, King or peasant, without a good survival instinct.

“Wait, Wait!! Hear me out, please!” the King said, sounding properly frightened. “I want all of you to stay. But I can’t command something like that.” King Louis started once Cici, who was still as red as an Api, calmed down a bit.

“I’ve thought about it, and the best thing to counter all the gossip is the truth.” King Louis said. “The trouble is, I don’t know the truth. I never needed it to trust you with my life. I don’t need it now. But I am King, and my People expect me to say something, and not lie to them. What do I tell them?” King Louis asked Felice, Shibu and Cici.

“There are some things we just don’t know, King Louis.” Felice said quietly. “Maybe we never will know.” She went on. “Shibu is missing part of who he is, and where he came from.” Felice explained.

“We never wanted to lie to him or about him.” Cici replied. “So we just loved him instead.” The Cra archer said with a tear in her green eyes. “I won’t start lying about him now, for anyone, but I will always be his Big Sister, and love him as if he were born my Little Brother. That’s all I’ll ever want.”

“Is that why you never certified his adoption?” King Louis asked gently.

“In part, Your Majesty.” Felice confessed. “Our life together was so grand that we never had any reason to leave Amakina, until that terrible man came along with his swindling ways.”

“The people in our village all feel the same way about Shibu as we do.” Cici answered. “As long as most of them want to remember, our Village has had a son between all of them.”

“Now I see it.” King Louis said at last. “I didn’t before. I’m a King who was as blind as some of his subjects are now.”

Finally, King Louis looked directly at Shibu again.

“You’re not leaving, Shibu. You’re all staying. Even If I have to adopt Shibu myself!”

“Oh, your Majesty!” Felice replied, her state of shock showing on her face. “What will the people think, at your age?”

“Hang what they think!” King Louis said at last. “Let them gossip about a prince, if they would just as soon gossip about a Commoner! Who’s King around here, anyway?”

Felice was radiant, and even Cici managed a smile. But Shibu was still quiet and reserved.

“As happy as I would be for everyone, Your Majesty, I can’t live any life, Knight, Prince or commoner, until I know where I come from.” Shibu said quietly at last.

“Master Chang and I have been talking that over as well, My lad. And going over a lot of dusty old books, older than both of us put together.” King Louis told Shibu. “Lots of them go back to the time of Ogrest, and most of them farther back than that.” The King told all of them. King Louis drew a deep breath and then spoke to his friends again.

“I didn’t come in here to ask you to lie. What I really came in to ask is if you might be ready for a remarkable truth.” King Louis asked all three of them. “This truth might be as difficult to live with as the gossip. I wanted to give you a choice before I spoke out of turn about anything.”

“If I have to choose...” Shibu said first, “I choose truth and love.” The dark haired boy replied after a thoughtful moment.

“That’s my little brother.” Cici replied. “He’s always been the youngest adult I’ve ever known. I’m with him. Whatever Shibu decides is for me, too.” Cici told the King of Bonta.

“And that goes just as much for me,” Felice said, by no means last. “I’ll live in a cave on Mount Zenit, as long as the three of us are together, Royalty, Commoners, or anything else.”

“That’s all I wanted and expected to hear from the three of you.” King Louis said with genuine admiration and heartfelt tears in his Royal blue eyes.

“Shibu, whenever you and your family are ready and rested, Master Chang would like to show you all something, or perhaps that should be some where.”

“Would you come along with us, Please, Your Majesty?” Shibu asked warmly.

“I'll let you and Master Chang show me when the two of you are ready, Shibu.” King Louis replied.

“For now, I have to be King, for a while at least. The line this morning is twice as long as it was yesterday!”

Shibu took the breakfast tray from across his lap and set it down again, before the King.

“Here, Your Majesty is likely to need more energy today!”

“That's not a bad idea, Squire Shibu!” King Louis replied, snitching a taste of Shibu's pancakes! “And Felice's pancakes are still the best in all Bonta! Must get her recipe for the royal kitchens!”

Shibu giggled, and King Louis smiled.

“You all should get going. I'll see you at lunch, I promise.” 

As King Louis got up off of his vast feather bed, and walked toward the door with a restored spring in his step. In a moment, the doors closed, and the fanfare from the throne room filled the bed chamber with a distant note of royalty.

Shibu was up and ready a moment later. He stepped behind a screen close to the bedside. There, Shibu found the same traveling clothes he had worn on the journey to Bonta. A rough but steady outfit made of soft leather, which more closely matched the unique pair of shoes Cici had crafted for him. It was simple, functional dress which lacked the refinement of the velvet pants and linen shirt. But there were some things clothes could not hide. The brown of the leather and its warm tones still set off Shibu's black hair, bronzed skin tone, and pure blue eyes to perfection. The garments were the simplest and most direct expression of the Ranger within Shibu.  
Also waiting over the back of the simple chair, Shibu found his bow, strung and ready to shoot, alongside his full quiver, loaded with the distinctive white and silver arrows of Bonta!

“I hope those will be enough for now, Little Brother.” Cici spoke up from the other side of the screen as Shibu dressed.

“I like those velvet pants a lot.” Shibu remarked. “But you can't go jumping around in them all that much.” Shibu observed casually. “This way, I'm ready for anything.”

Shibu stepped silently out from behind the screen, looking every inch the Ranger he had become, as Cici dropped two gentle hands to his shoulders, her green eyes glowing with a love that needed no words.

“Spoken like a Ranger, Little Brother.” Cici replied with a touch of gentle pride in Shibu. “Let's find Master Chang.”

“Here, we'll use the far door.” Felice told the other two. “So we don't disrupt Royal Duties.”

The trio stepped out of the bed chamber, and into the servant's hallway, closing the door behind them.


	29. Portal to History

Master Chang seemed to float rather than walk. But he stepped up to Shibu and family, holding out his hand to his new apprentice.

“Come with me, little brother. Your journey of discovery starts in a place one hundred times older than both of us together.”

Shibu nodded with resolution. “This is something I want as much for Felice and Cici, as much as for me.”

“I can tell you have read many books Shibu. But what you will see now will bring those pages and your understanding to life. The life you have been missing.”

The group gathered together before a door unlike any that Shibu had seen so far in the fabled castle of Bonta. Another thing that made this door different is that Chang didn’t use any sort of latch, or key to open the door.

Rather, he put a leather skinned hand with long slender fingers, ending in sharp looking pointed nails, flat in the middle of the door itself.

The door itself seemed to react, glowing with a faint light that Shibu could already recognize. A magical seal, probably put in place by Master Chang himself to limit access to whatever was beyond the door.  
Moments later, the glowing door seemed to fold back on itself, revealing a tall but narrow opening.

Master Chang led the way himself, as the doorway seem to fit his shape, as if the opening in the ancient wall had been crafted specifically for him.

There was enough room for the others to take one step beyond the frame of the door, and look out and down into what at first glance seem to be a sheer and dangerous drop into nothing at all.

But across his nose, Shibu could both feel and smell the presence and movement of slightly musty cool air.

Master Chang took another step forward, and other magic seemed to take over the moment, as small iron sconces set into the stone walls above flickered to life with bright yellow and orange flames. Their dancing light cast enough light on the black stone below to reveal a single step cut into the rock of the dark floor.

Chang continued downward at a steep slant, waiting for each step to be illuminated before walking on. All the while the Sage carefully shepherded the group along with him, while Shibu stood steadfastly at his Master's side.

The black steps descended, first tens and then hundreds of feet, so that Shibu could feel the air across the tip of his nose become gradually cooler. The light sconces were now providing a measure of heat as well as light as the group was seemingly pulled deeper and deeper under the ground.

Shibu had started to count the steps, the way Cici had taught him, as a way to avoid becoming lost in any strange place. But he gave up his count after five hundred, knowing that Cici was still counting, and because Shibu sensed another change in the atmosphere around the group.

“Walking down these timeless steps have taken us back more than one thousand years in the history of Bonta, and in the entire World of the Twelve.” Master Chang explained to Shibu as the group arrived at the bottom of what seemed to be the nearly endless black staircase.

“With each step, we have also gone back in time a little bit.” Master Chang continued. “Many generations of people have lived here and built here, far into the past, even before the time of Ogrest’s chaos.” Chang told the group, as they huddled together as much for warmth as for security in the new and strange place in which they found themselves.

“Shibu?” Master Chang asked.

“Yes Master Chang?” Shibu replied, his voice still filled with resolution, despite the fact that his bronze skin was covered with goosebumps.

“You feel it too, don’t you little brother?” Chang asked while one of Shibu’s hands rested almost tenderly on one of Chang’s large fingertips.

“I feel strange.” Shibu confessed quietly. “Something ahead of us is.. Pulling at me.” The boy with the black hair continued.

“We have arrived, little brother.” Master Chang answered him slowly. “You feel the touch of the magic that belongs to your people.”

Master Chang paused, long enough to indicate another set of great wooden doors just ahead of the group. These contrasted the other doors which the group had seen. Each of these wooden doors were constructed of ancient heavy timber, and equally heavy appointments of black iron.  
The most unusual thing about this set of massive doors was that there was no trace or scent of rust or rot coming from what was obviously ancient construction far older than anything even Shibu could imagine.

Shibu, Felice, and Cici all stood in line at Master Chang's side, as the Sage extended one index finger, and tapped the very center of the set of doors which were twice s big as the main doors of the throne room far above.

A moment later, as silently and smoothly as if they’d been opened only yesterday, the two cavernous doors parted to admit the party.  
There was no draft of cold, or foreboding in the air as the group stepped over the threshold, and into what seemed to be another world!

It was revealed to them this time not by open flame and iron sconces, but by a smooth flow of blue light.

“I don’t know why, but we’re safe here.” Shibu told the group speaking in an almost absent-minded tone, as his eyes which were blue as the light around them, seemed to dart everywhere he could see within the vast chamber.

“From what I understand, little brother.” Master Chang began.   
“This great cavern vault was built by Bonta’s people, more than 1000 years ago.” Master Chang revealed, as the Sage felt the young boy at his side slowly becoming more and more excited by his surroundings.

“The writing in their books says that they built this place to preserve, and protect something, or perhaps, from what I’ve been able to find, a set of something.”

As Master Chang spoke, Shibu was listening, but his eyes flickered over the seemingly ageless walls of the cavern. They were made of a sky-blue stone, and engraved with markings that seem to rivet Shibu’s attention from the first moment he saw them.

“Are these artworks, Master?” Shibu asked quietly, almost out of breath, but having never exerted himself.

“Each decorated stone, or series of stones, is called a fresco, Shibu.”

“Mom! Cici! Come and look! The people in these pictures all have hats like mine!” Shibu said, a quiet excitement barely held down by his near whisper.

“So they do, Dear!” Felice said. “And looking at these, reminds me a lot of someone I knew when he was younger.” Felice said with a smile as she snuggled Shibu warmly, and joined him in looking at the artwork, which decorated both sides of the vault-like cavern.

After several seconds, Shibu looked up from the artwork, with tears running down his cheeks. Only Felice’s steady touch on Shibu’s broad shoulders kept him from crying right out loud in front of his friends.

“Master Chang, these are my people.” Shibu said quietly.   
“This is what was missing from me, way down deep.” Shibu explained slowly. “Did they have a name, Master? What did they call themselves when they talked to each other about themselves?”

“The word your Heart needs to hear, and you need to understand, Little Brother, is “Eliotrope.” Master Chang answered at last. 

Just hearing the word set something he could not explain ringing, deep inside him. The sensation was like the one Shibu felt when he first heard the great bells in Bonta. But this name vibrated him too, in exactly the same way.

“Eliotrope.” Shibu repeated clearly, not only claiming the strange word, but allowing it to ring thru him, like one of Bonta’s great bells.

“Eliotrope!” Shibu repeated. “Eliotrope!” He said again, this time in that gentle, loving voice that Shibu used when he cared about anything or anyone, which was most all the time. 

“Maxim called me that, too.” Shibu reflected. “But His was a voice of greed and deception.” Shibu continued. “From now on, no one shall ever abuse the name of my people within my hearing.” Shibu spoke in quiet solemn tones, creating a vow from his spoken words.

“Your people were gentle, peaceful and wise, Little Brother. Yet, when they worked together they could wield great power to do good among themselves.” Master Chang told Shibu quietly. “The Eliotropes never made war,and always kept peace whenever they could.” The elder Sage explained.

“That's my Darling Shibu!” Felice whispered proudly. The best Sea Dragon, and the best Eliotrope ever.”

“My people, The Eliotropes.” Shibu didn’t so much as speak the name of his people this time as he did quietly proclaim it, in a steady, respectful voice that seemed to fill the vast cavern around the group.

“Now I have a people. But I’m still missing a piece of my own name.” Shibu thought aloud in a quiet whisper.

“Master Chang?” He asked quietly.

“Yes, Little Brother?”

“Can you read the language of the dragons?”

“I have learned some, Yes. Eliotropes and Dragons are bound together, Shibu. Like the stars and the night sky.” Master Chang answered.

Shibu nodded. Then he took his right index finger and rubbed it in a small circle in his left palm. The Blue energy stayed on his finger as Shibu “wrote” on the air between he and Master Chang.  
As Felice and Cici saw the symbol traced in the blue energy, both of them gasped!

“There were three symbols on part of a gold medallion that was with me when I was rescued.” Shibu explained. “The first two were Shi-Bu in the ancient language of the dragons. But we had never seen this one before.” Shibu explained calmly as Master Chang looked on.

But as he went on, Shibu could already see a light dancing in the old Sage’s eyes.

“That isn’t a name, Little Brother.” Master Chang replied.  
Shibu’s face fell, along with his hopes. “It is a Title, Little Brother.” Master Chang revealed. Shibu’s smile, and his hopes rose again quickly.

“It means “Guardian.” in the tongue of the Dragons from the World of the Twelve. “It is pronounced after the name of the holder. Learn your most important word of Draconic, Shibu. Your birthright is the title pronounced “Nen.”

“Shibunen.” The dark haired boy pronounced slowly. “I remember reading a book of Astronomy back home.” Shibu reflected for a moment. “Isn’t there a meteor shower with that name?”

Chang smiled. “Yes, it happens once every 250 years, together with a comet that has three tails, in the sign of the Sea Dragon.” Chang related.

“We saw both of those the night Shibu arrived.” Felice recalled. “There was also a tremendous storm which almost leveled our village.” Felice recalled. “And most of everything else between Amakina and Bonta.” Cici added.

“Little brother here came on the most powerful lightning storm anyone could remember. Even the Elders had seen nothing like it before.” Cici recounted.

“A lightning bolt, you say?” Chang asked, with his bearded chin resting on the tip of his thumb as he listened.

“Yes, it carved a crater so deep, after we took Shibu here out of it, we had to plant an oak tree to fill in the spot.” Felice recalled.

“Lightning is a sign of the most potent of ancient magic.” Chang told the trio. “It is supposed to be the result of all types of natural magic coming together as one.”

“Sounds like a Guardian to me.” Cici reflected. “And it certainly sounds like Shibu here.” Cici hugged Shibu close as she replied.

“But that leaves us another question, doesn’t it?’ Felice wondered aloud. “If our Shibunen was put here to guard something, what could it be?”

“I can’t say.” Cici answered. “But I know my Little Brother. Whatever or whoever it might be is absolutely safe when Shibu is around.”

“Maybe it’s this place.” Shubunen spoke up quietly. “There must be every kind of magic down here.” The Eliotrope reflected. “Maybe it needs protection from people like Maxim.”

“That’s a fine idea, Little Brother.’ Master Chang answered in turn. “Bonta still faces many problems from people who want to take everything the City has.” Master Chang explained.

“They won’t get it.” Shibu said quietly. “Or this place, or anything down here.”

“Can you imagine what Maxim would have done with just a small amount of this power?” Felice shuddered as she spoke. Just thinking about what might have been gave the Enripsa goose flesh.

“This is our Place. The world of the Eliotropes.” Shibu said with quiet dedication. “No one will use us to harm anyone else. I promise, with Cra’s help, and Enripsa’s blessing.”

As Shibu spoke his heart, he noticed that both of his palms now glowed with a layer of the same blue energy that seemed to live in the vast space around him.

Shibunen dropped to one knee, and placed his palms flat on the ancient blue stone floor at his feet.

“For the Elitrope people, This I promise,” Shibu said out loud, even though he wasn’t quite sure where the words came from.

Cici knelt also, stripping the glove from her bow arm as she bent lower. “And by Cra, I swear no one shall profane this place or harm Shibunen while I can draw my bow.”

As she spoke Cici placed her palm next to Shibu’s so their fingers could intertwine. Cici’s palm, and her bow arm was instantly washed in the same Blue energy she had always seen in her Little Brother’s shimmering, happy eyes.

Then Felice fluttered over between Shibu and Cici, placing a hand on the shoulder of each as she spoke in her turn.

‘And by the mercy of Enripsa, I promise to look after your safety, health and welfare, always. As you are my family, I grant you all Enripsa’s blessing.”

All of a sudden a forth figure joined the circle, kneeling before the other three.

Master Chang spoke out in a quiet but powerful tone, in a language none of the trio had ever heard before. But Shibu felt something touch his deepest heart, as well as his ears, and suddenly, he could see, hear and understand the Draconic spell being recited in his mind. The new language was simply there, as if Shibu had known and understood it every day of his life!

After the Draconic vow was done, Master Chang also put his larger and more formidable hand down gently over the other three in the same place on the mystical blue stone floor.

Suddenly, Shibu felt more energy than before flowing around, and thru him. His ears were now sensitive enough to hear great blocks as they moved slowly, in corners of the vast cavern to distant to see in the blue light.

It was like turning a key.

Before anyone could react, a new shade of blue light seemed to shimmer from between the individually drawn blue stones that made up the scenes of the art on the walls. The same light seemed to push outward, along the individual spaces between the ancient blue stones that made up the walls of the great cavern itself, until the entire cavern was lit a soft blue, like a spring sky on a sunny morning! 

Even Master Chang showed alternative expressions of surprise and delight, and these expressions became outright amazement as the art drawn onto the plates of blue stone took on a life of its own, and the drawings began to move!

One set of drawings along the wall flowed and flickered, creating a motion that never stopped so the drawings became a continuous flow of motion!

Suddenly, Shibu’s people were all around him, and filled with his own energy.

Shibu could see them doing everything. They were Playing, building, and most intriguing, looking up at a sky that flickered with its own stars, glowing with the same energy that animated the other drawings!

Shibu walked into what he thought was the center of the cavern room, watching the drawings come to life on the inside of the dome of the cavern that was higher up than he could see.

“Shibu, My Little brother.” came a familiar voice.

“Yes, Cici?”

“Take off your hat, little brother.” Cici said quietly.

“My hat?” Shibu repeated, unsure of the moment.

“In here, you don’t need to keep yourself secret any longer, Little Brother. You are among your people, and we love you all.” Cici said quietly.

“Go on, Eliotrope Shibu.” Master Chang encouraged gently. “You are at home, among your loved ones. They will never betray you.”

“You can be what you really are now, My dearest boy.” Felice said lovingly. “Hat or no hat, you are who you are, and we love you.” The Enripsa healer said.

“Go on, Little brother.” Master Chang encouraged. “What happens in this place stays forever in its stories and history.” Show your loved ones your deepest magic.”

Shibu nodded quietly. “I love you all, and I’m not afraid anymore.” Shibu replied, as his gentle touch swept his hood back, off of his thick, black hair, and let his hat fall to the animated blue stones at his feet.

At the top of Shibu’s head was a set of blue, almost antler-like horns! They were long, and tall, with many points on them. But they didn’t wrap around his head like deer anthers. Instead, the blue energy projections gave Shibu a sort of vertical crown, whose crackling blue branches made Shibu one forth again as tall as he was. But the visual impression of Shibu’s secret multiplied, as the soft blue light coming from the top of his head, also showed off a pair of round projections within the space between his two blue horns.

A second set of horns were growing solidly from the top of Shibu’s skull, between his pair of blue horns!

All this could be seen most clearly because Shibu was hovering in the air now, a step or two closer to the blue light shimmering down from the domed ceiling. The black-haired, blue-horned boy needed no more black stone steps leading upward, because Shibu was hovering in mid–air almost twice his own height off of the blue stone floor!

“Shibu, you’re — Awesome, Little Brother!” Cici found the words at last.

“Thanks, Big Sister.” Shibu answered.

“My little boy has grown up in wonderful ways, But you’re still our sweet, Dark-haired boy.” Felice told Shibu, as she fluttered up next to him and took Shibu’s hands in her own.

“Sorry I didn’t show you before now, but how could I explain this?” Shibu said apologetically. 

“This is what you are, Little Brother, and I love you too! Cici spoke up firmly. “So there!” Cici added for good measure.

That made Shibu giggle, and Shibu moved just a bit, to reach out and down.  
Cici was amazed as Shibu picked her up along with her new bow and quiver as if she weighed almost nothing at all, until all three of Shibu’s family were in mid-air with him.

“I’m still not sure what all this means, Mom.” Shibu said. “But I do know that regular folks aren’t ready to see me this way yet.”

“Yeah.” Said Cici in reply. “Most people can’t take so much magic all at once. But you have it, Shibu. And until you’re ready, it’s going to be a family secret, Cra’s promise.”

“Mine, too, Sweetheart.” Felice told Shibu tenderly. “My guess would be that you have more skills than you know about, especially down here.” Felice said, thinking things over a bit.

“Your mother is as wise as a dragon, Shibu.” Master Chang spoke up as the trio floated back down to the floor.

Shibu picked up his hooded hat and slid it back on. All traces of Shibu’s unusual anatomy disappeared, and to any set of normal eyes, Shibu was a tall, lanky, broad shouldered, boy who could kick harder than anyone and run faster than the forest deer. 

“Master Chang, will you help me, please?” Shibu asked, dropping to one knee in front of the venerable Master.

“As much as I can, little brother.” Master Chang replied. “This is your home as much as the city above.” Master Chang added. “And to mark the return of our Guardian, permit me to share with you now, one of the wonders that I have found stored in these cavern rooms.”   
So Saying Master Chang ushered Shibu and his family into another arced passageway only a few steps distant from the brightly illuminated cavern where they were gathered together.

“You have learned, Little Brother that each calling bears unique skills.” Master Chang explained as the group walked farther into the seemingly endless blue-lined vastness of the Catacombs. “And that each calling has it's own rights of passage. So it is with the Calling of Guardian, young Eliotrope.”

“Like the bond of the Bow, and the heart of a Ranger.” Cici explained gently.

“And the bond between healer and the Nature that brings forth our Potions, My Darling Boy.” Felice continued.

“Guardians also have their hallmarks,Shibu.” Master Chang explained as the Elder Sage stopped before what seemed to be a space where the passageway ended before the group in what seemed to be a blank blue stone wall.

“This is the Hall of the Guardians, Shibu. You alone hold the key. Show your people and their legacy that you have the wisdom and the heart to open what they have left for you alone.” Master Chang told Shibu.  
For just a moment, Shibu didn't know what to do. But then, he put the flat of his palm down on what seemed to be the wall which ended the unfinished passage.

To everyone's surprise, including Shibu, a portal appeared in what looked to be a solid wall of blue stones!  
The wall of the passageway glowed a deeper blue than Shibu could imagine, and the wall before the group vanished from sight and existence under Shibu's energetic touch! And in place of the wall, there was a doorway, arched as in the style of all the others Shibu had seen, which led into a smaller room that glowed with an inviting and warm blue light!

'Well done, Shibunen!” Master Chang encouraged. “Now, enter in to your own space within this Cavern, and claim the hallmark of your true calling.”

Shibu nodded his understanding, and as his family waited, Shibu stepped thru the archway, passing alone into the room beyond.  
When Shibu vanished from the sight of the group, Cici felt her hart skip a beat. But it was only another heartbeat of time before her worry for Shibu was replaced by a warm draft of gentle energy that Cici knew came from Shibu himself!

“Come in everyone. Come in and see this wonderful place!” Shibu called out to his family.

The group stepped thru the blue seal, and found themselves in what might pass for an armory room copied from the white Castle far far above.  
In the center of the room, there stood a display case, gilded with gold corners, and made of a thick glass that seemed to sparkle as if diamonds had been used to form the glass, rather than mere sand.

Inside the case, clearly visible displayed on a form made of dark wood, carved into the form of a small figure, there was a crisp, clean set of what seemed at first glance to be red and silver accented silks. The display figure showed off a loose hood, that came up around and over another hat, the mere sight of which stole Shibu's next breath away. 

The next piece in the sat was a matching jacket, whose red color and silver accents melded exactly with those that could be seen and traced on and thru the hood. The harmony of the reflected and flowing energy seemed to meld the hood and the jacket into one piece, charged with a common energy that made both shimmer softly under Shibu's gleaming eyes as he beheld them.

The jacket was tapered slightly, as if some mystical tailor had foreseen Shibu's own shape, cinched by a broad belt of the same material and silver filaments which adjusted by tension kept by folding the length of the adjustable belt back upon itself thru a pair of identical silver rings. The lower half of the unique set was a somewhat looser red and silver wrap which fell from the waist down to the ankles, where a pair of broad soft sandal-like shoes secured with black elastic cords finished the complete set.

Shibu was so enraptured at the sight of the silks that Cici had to touch Shibu gently on the shoulder to break what seemed like a spell cast between the silks and the Eliotrope for whom the set seemed to had been nearly custom made!

“Shibu, don't ask me how, but these were made for you, just as much as any bow.” Cici told her little Brother in a whisper filled with quiet awe. “It's as if your people saw you coming, Little Brother.”

Shibu was silent as he put out a single finger, and laid it as softly as he could on the edge of the display case.  
Without a sound, or any trace of mechanism, the clear case lifted, up and out of the way of the display figure and the silks it supported.

“Go on, Dear.” Felice encouraged. “I think Cici is right. These are yours, in the same way this place is yours.” 

“I want to see my brother, the Guardian, wearing his colors.” Cici whispered quietly to Shibu. “When you claim these, this place, and all it holds will be truly yours, and your People's place, once again, Shibu. I can feel it.” Cici told Shibu speaking softly and gently from her heart. 

Shibu didn't reply, but the glow of determination in his blue eyes could have doubled the intensity of the light within the blue stone room.

Shibu reached over to the display figure, and with a reverent touch filled with awe and a warmth he had never known before, Shibu claimed each of the pieces in the set, folding them carefully across his palms and over his forearms before he walked back up the passageway a short distance to change his clothes.

Left alone with Felice and Master Chang in the armory room, Cici found herself looking for traces of weapons of any kind. She did see a small rack against one of the walls, but it was empty, altho she could recognize the cut out spaces in the rack as matching those for a lance of some sort, altho no blade of any sort could be seen. Across the room the Cra also looked for a long while at a circular frame meant to display a buckler type shield. But this wall mounting, like the weapons rack across the room, showed no signs of use.

Cici's trained ears worked, even in this place filled with unique life energy. She was the first to hear Shibu's nearly silent footsteps, as Shibu seemed to slide, rather than walk back into the room where his family waited.

“Hay Everyone!” Shibu interjected optimistically. “How do I look?”

As Shibu's Master, and a moment later, Shibu's family turned to look at Shibu's new attire, a deep moment of silence descended on the ancient room.

“It may be that no Eliotrope has been in this room in hundreds of years.” Master Chang told Shibu in a calm and reverent tone. “Now your people have truly returned, at long last, Shibunen.” Master Chang took two full steps back from his newest student. The elder Sage made Shibu blush as red as the silks he wore by going down on one knee before Shibu. “It shall be my Honor to light your path ahead in as much as I may do, Oh Guardian of the Blue Light.' 

Shibu did what came naturally. He bowed in return to the Great Sage who had started his journey toward the answers he needed so much. 

“Thank you, My Great Sage, and venerable Master.” Shibu replied, before stepping forward and helping Master Chang to rise again. “You have helped me to walk a path of wisdom and discovery,” Shibu told his Master respectfully. “May we walk that path together for the good of everyone in this world we share.”

Master Chang took another step back, to allow Felice and Cici to pounce happily upon Shibu, breaking the weight of the moment with the gentle love that was the true strength of all three of them.

“My Darling Boy. My sweet Eliotrope!” Felice told her boy, as tears flowed freely down her cherubic face. “I'm so proud of you, my handsome Sea Dragon, and I love you more than all the worlds in the night sky, my Dark-haired Hero.” Felice told Shibu as she kissed him gently on cheeks and forehead before rubbing noses with her son as she had always done and would always do in all his days to come.

“I Love you too, Mom, and no matter what else I may be, I'll always be your son, first and best of all.” Shibu replied, drizzling his Mother's cheeks with gentle kisses that needed no more words between them.

Shibu felt another familiar figure kneel into the group, and as Cici's arms wrapped up Shibu in a strength that seemed to flow like the blue energy around him, Shibu felt a peace and a power flow into him that added many fold to his own Wakfu.

“Cra blessed me from the first moment I saw you, My sweet Shibu.” Cici told her brother. “Everything of value in my life has come thru you, and your wonderful heart. My Brother is the Guardian of his people, the Eliotropes, a Sea Dragon, and with Cra's blessing, a Ranger like no other.” Cici told Shibu. “I have a family like no other in all history, thanks to your light, and your love, my Darling Little Brother. I will be yours forever and always, and our only limits will be the stars where the Sea Dragon dwells. I love you so much, Shibunen.”

“Thank you all so much. I love all of you as much as you love me.” Shibu told his family and his Teacher. I feel so lucky to have so many who care about me so much. But for all that I have, where before I knew so little, I still have a problem. One that only you all will be able to help me solve.”

“And what problem would that be, Sweetheart?” Felice asked her son.

“There is so much to do, and even more I have to learn. And to be honest with those who I know love me most of all, I confess that I am not sure at all where we ought to begin together,” Shibu confessed quietly without putting on airs. In a moment, Shibu was, in spite of all he now knew that he might do, quite simply the uncomplicated, openhearted boy with the vivid blue eyes.

“Master Chang?” Shibu asked, in his normal, endlessly curious tone. ”Please tell me where is the best place to begin?”

“Here, you are truly a Guardian, Shibunen. It is you who must direct us. What do you wish to do, Noble Guardian of the Eliotropes?”

The dark-haired boy thought about things for a moment. But just as he started to speak, Shibu’s tummy let out a growl worthy of an ageless black dragon! The sound spoke much louder than he ever could!

Shibu gently put both hands across his tummy, and blushed as pink as a rose.

“Maybe we ought to eat before getting started down here.” Shibu said quietly, as the drawings still dancing around the cavern seemed to laugh with him.

Master Chang smiled. It was an odd expression for a Sage, and one Shibu had not seen often since they met.

“Now that is the beginning of true wisdom, My young Shibu.”  
The elderly Sage observed as he led the group back toward the stairs.

A long walk upward would give Shibu and friends a hearty appetite for both lunch and the adventures that all of them knew lay ahead for Shibu, the Eliotrope.


End file.
